THE  HORSE 


-  DAYIES 


Fig.  1. — The  Extkenal  Paets  of  the  Horse 


1.  Head 

2.  Neck 

3.  Shoulder 

4.  Withers 

5.  Forearm 

6.  Knee 

7.  Shauk 


8.  Fetlock 

9.  Pastern 

10.  Hoof 

11.  Back 

12.  Ribs 

13.  Loin 

14.  Flank 


15.  Belly 

16.  Brisket 

17.  Cronp 

18.  Thigh 

19.  Gaskin 

20.  Hock 


The  Horse 

And  How  to  Care 
for  Him 

BY 

C.  T.  Davies 


HOW  TO  CHOOSE  A  HORSE, 
TELL  HIS  AGE,  FEED, 
STABLE,  HARNESS  AND 
TRAIN  HIM,  AND  KEEP 
HIM   IN    GOOD    HEALTH 


Philadelphia 
The  Penn  Publishing  Company 

1917 


COPYHIGHT  1911    BY  ThE   PexN   PUBLISHING   COMPANY 


Contents 

I.  The  Selection  of  a  Hoese      .        .  7 

n.  How  TO  Tell  a  Horse's  Age  .        .  31 

III.  Sound  and  Unsound  Horses    .        .  54 

IV.  Stables  and  Appliances  ...  87 
V.    Food 104 

VI.  Stable  Management        .        .        .  114 

Vn.  Feeding  and  Watering   .        .        .  128 

VIII.  The  Care  of  the  Feet     .        .        .  140 

IX.  Cost  of  Keeping  a  Horse        .        .  144 

X.  Hints  on  Breaking  and  Drying    .  150 

XI.  Common  Ailments     ....  170 

Index 181 


Illustrations 


Fig.  1.— The 
Plate   I.— Fig. 

Fig. 

Fig. 

Fig. 
Plate  II.— Fig. 

Fig. 

Fig. 

Fig. 

Fig. 

Fig. 

Fig 

Fig 
Fig.  14. 
Fig.  15. 
Fig.  16. 
Fig.  17. 
Fig.  18. 
Fig.  19. 
Fig  20. 
Fig.  21. 
Fig.  22. 
Fig.  23. 
Fig.  24. 
Fig.  25. 
Fig.  26. 
Fig.  27. 
Fig.  28. 


Page 
Frontispiece 
13 


External  Parts  of  the  Horse 

2.  Chest  too  wide 

3.  Good  chest 

4.  Hocks  turned  in 

5.  Good  hocks 

6.  Calf  knee 

7.  Over  at  Knee   . 

8.  Splint 

9.  Ewe  neck  and  straight  shoulder 
10   Curb 

11.  Spavin 

12.  Good  hock 

13.  Good  neck  and  sloping  shoulder 
— Lower  jaw  at  two  and  a  half  years 
—Lower  jaw  at  three  and  a  half  years 
—Lower  jaw  at  four  and  a  half  years 
—Lower  jaw  at  five  years 
— Lower  jaw  at  six  years  . 
—Lower  jaw  at  seven  years 
—Lower  jaw  at  eight  years 
—Lower  jaw  at  nine  years 
— Lower  jaw  at  ten  years  . 
— Lower  jaw  at  twelve  years     . 
— Lower  jaw  at  fifteen  years 
— Lower  jaw  at  twenty  years     . 
— Diagram  of  the  inner  side  of  the  off  hock 
— Diagram  of  the  outer  side  of  off  fore  leg 
— Showing  horse  bitted  up  ready  to  lead  ;  also 

showing  position  of  reins  in  long  rein  driv 
jug 

5 


13 
13 
13 
19 
19 
19 
19 
19 
19 
19 
19 
32 
34 
36 
38 
40 
42 
44 
46 
48 
50 
51 
53 
61 
79 


159 


THE    HORSE 

CHAPTER  I 

The  Selection  of  a  Horse 

To  most  people  the  purchase  of  a  horse  is  a 
serious  and  important  undertaking.  Any  nian 
who  is  interested  in  horses  is  averse  to  acknowl- 
edging that  he  knows  nothing  about  them,  and  in 
this  respect  more  than  any  other  he  has  a  great 
predilection  for  doing  his  own  business,  however 
incompetent  he  may  be  to  do  it.  It  is  extraordi- 
nary how  few  people  are  really  good  judges  of 
this  animal,  and  how  little  practical  knowledge 
men  may  possess  in  spite  of  much  experience 
among  different  varieties  of  horses.  To  become  a 
good  judge  a  knovvdedge  of  anatomy  is  essential ; 
but  as  a  dissertation  on  anatomy  is  hardly  within 
the  scope  of  this  handbook,  we  must  confine  our- 
selves to  gi^^ng  a  brief  description  of  the  most  de- 
sirable  points   of  conformation  for  the   various 

r 


8  THE  HOESE 

classes  of  work,  together  with  a  few  ^particulars  of 
the  commonest  faults  and  unsoundnesses. 

A  fact  which  is  often  overlooked  in  connection 
with  the  purchase  of  a  horse  is  that  an  animal 
may  be  admirably  suited  for  one  class  of  work 
and  quite  unsuitable  and  incapable  for  another. 
Thus,  many  horses  may  be  "rough"  and  uncom- 
fortable for  riding,  but  will  be  excellent  in  every 
way  as  roadsters  ;  and  a  horse  which  is  capable  of 
pulling  a  great  weight  is  obviously  unsuited  for 
fast  galloping.  Therefore  the  intendmg  purchaser 
must  first  make  up  his  mind  exactly  what  class  of 
work  he  wants  his  horse  for,  and  he  must  then 
endeavor  to  secure  an  animal  with  conformation 
such  as  will  enable  it  to  perform  this  work  in  the 
best  manner  and  with  least  exertion  to  itself.  At 
the  two  extremes  are  the  thoroughbred  and  the 
cart  horse,  the  former  bred  for  speed,  the  latter 
for  strength.  Two  greater  differences  could 
hardly  be  unagined  in  one  species  of  animal,  for 
the  points  necessary  to  the  one  are  utterly  con- 
demnatory in  the  other;  and  although  perhaps 
these  differences  are  peculiar  to  the  shell  or  ex- 
ternal parts  of  the  animal,  rather  than  to  the 
internal  and  vital  parts,  yet  they  are  very  ap- 
parent to  the  eye,  and  are  the  ones  to  which  at- 


THE  HORSE  9 

tention    should    be    paid    in    the    choice    of    a 
horse. 

The  class  of  animal  most  likely  to  be  required 
by  the  average  horse-owner  is  the  harness  horse, 
so  that  in  considering  the  various  points  we  will 
keep  this  ideal  in  view.  In  many  respects  the 
harness  horse  requires  the  combined  points  of  a 
saddle-horse  and  a  cart  horse,  and,  leaving  out  of 
the  question  exaggerated  examples,  such  as  that 
galloping  machine  the  race-horse,  or  that  equine 
giant  the  Percheron,  we  shall  find  that  the  bony 
conformation  of  the  one  differs  very  little,  except 
in  a  minor  degree,  from  that  of  the  others.  Such 
differences  as  exist  are  as  a  rule  muscular,  and  as 
we  go  along  we  shall  endeavor  to  indicate  the 
various  classes  of  work  for  which  each  variety  of 
conformation  is  best  suited. 

Head 
Although  the  head  is  very  much  less  important 
from  a  working  point  of  view  than  many  other 
parts  of  the  horse,  yet  as  it  is  usually  the  first 
point  to  catch  the  eye,  and  as  it  is  the  one  part 
from  which  it  is  possible  to  penetrate  the  secret 
of  a  horse's  disposition  and  character,  it  is  given 
priority  of  consideration.     The  chief  faults  of  the 


10  THE  HORSE 

head  are  that  it  may  be  too  small  or  too  large. 
The  reader  may  perhaps  be  surprised  when  we 
say  that  the  head  can  be  too  small,  as  popular 
opinion  is  generally  in  favor  of  a  small  size  of 
this  part.  Too  small  a  head  may  indicate  weak 
masticating  muscles,  and  hence  the  owner  may 
suffer  from  a  bad  digestion ;  and  it  may  mdicate 
small  air-passages,  and  hence  the  breathing  of  the 
horse  may  be  unpaired.  If,  however,  the  small- 
headed  horse  possesses  a  broad,  flat  forehead  and 
large  open  nostrils,  he  will  not  be  likely  to  labor 
under  either  of  these  disadvantages,  and  the  small 
head  will  be  an  advantage  rather  that  the  reverse. 
A  large  head  indicates  cart-horse  blood,  and  is  un- 
desirable, because  a  horse  is  apt  to  carry  it  badly, 
and  consequently  put  an  undue  proportion  of 
weight  on  the  forehand.  Apart  from  this,  how- 
ever, provided  the  horse  has  plenty  of  bone,  a  big 
head  is  not  particularl}^  objectionable,  and  no  horse 
need  be  refused  because  he  is  a  little  "  plain." 

A  fairly  common  pecidiarity  is  a  prominence 
between  the  eyes  (convexity  of  frontals),  which  is 
very  objectionable,  and  generally  indicates  a  bad 
temper.  A  small  or  sunken  "  pig  "  eye  and  a  Avail 
eye  (a  ring  of  white  round  the  iris)  are  also  indi- 
cations of  a  wayward  temper  and  ungenerous  dis- 


THE  HORSE  11 

position.  A  wide,  -flat  forehead  and  bold  eye  are 
signs  of  intelligence  and  good  disposition.  It  must 
be  mentioned,  however,  that  the  eye  can  be  too 
big,  and  a  "scarey,"  nervous  horse  will  often 
possess  a  large,  prominent  eye.  In  this  connection 
the  ears  will  also  be  some  guide,  and  a  continuous 
backward  and  forward  movement,  and  an  en- 
deavor to  see  behuid,  etc.,  may  confirm  suspicions 
that  the  animal  is  nervous.  Apart  from  the 
teeth,  a  sunken  appearance  of  the  face,  midAvay 
on  a  line  drawn  from  the  inner  corner  of  the  eye 
to  the  mouth,  will  indicate  old  age.  The  top  of 
the  head  between  the  ears  should  be  prominent, 
and  the  skin  over  the  whole  head  in  a  well-bred 
horse  should  be  fine  and  thin,  showing  thi'ough 
it  the  various  nerves,  muscles,  and  blood-vessels. 
There  should  be  no  swellings  or  thickness  be- 
tween the  jaw-bones,  nor  should  the  hollows  above 
the  eyes  be  deep  in  a  young  horse. 

JSTeck 
The  neck  of  a  saddle-horse  cannot  be  too  long 
or  light,  nor  of  a  cart  horse  too  comparatively 
thick.  The  harness  horse  should  have  something 
between  the  two.  A  weU-shaped  neck,  with  nicely 
set-on  head,  adds  much  to  the  appearance  of  a 


12  THE  HORSE 

horse  (Plate  II.  Fig.  13),  and  the  ammal  wiU  be 
handier  and  pleasant er  to  diive  than  one  which  is 
clumsily  or  a^Ykwardly  made.  As  one  of  the  most 
important  muscles  which  di^aws  the  shoulder  for- 
ward runs  U23  the  neck  and  is  attached  to  the  top 
of  the  head,  length  of  neck  and  good  carriage  of 
head  mean  greater  power  of  this  muscle,  and  hence 
better  action.  A  big  crest  is  simply  an  accumula- 
tion of  fat  on  the  upper  part  of  the  neck,  and  is 
chiefly  an  indication  of  fatness  and  not  of  good 
conformation.  As  it  makes  the  hoi^e  heavier  in 
front,  i.  e.,  puts  more  weight  on  the  fore  legs,  it  is 
an  undesh^able  f eatm^e.  The  best  class  of  neck  for 
a  harness  horse  in  one  of  medium  length,  sHghtly 
arched  (Plate  II.  Fig.  1 3),  and  with  weU-developed 
muscles.  A  very  short  thick  neck,  which  is 
usually  accompanied  by  straight  shoulders,  is  a 
form  of  conformation  which,  by  reason  of  the  un- 
due amount  of  weight  it  thi^ows  forward,  makes  a 
horse  extremely  likely  to  overbalance  and  fall 
down.  A  horse  with  a  "  ewe  "  neck  is  often  also 
a  "  star  gazer  "  (Plate  11.  Fig.  9),  and  extremely 
unpleasant  either  to  ride  or  drive,  as  not  only  is 
he  liable  to  get  the  bit  off  the  bars  and  into  the 
corners  of  his  mouth,  but  his  carriage  of  head 
prevents  him  from  seeing  where  he  is  stepping. 


THE  HORSE 


IB 


As  this  last  is  not  of  so  much  consequence  in  a 
harness  horse  as  it  is  in  a  hunter,  the  fault  is  not 
such  a  grave  one  in  the  class  of  animal  under  con- 
sideration. 

Shoulders  and  Withers 
Whatever  his  work,  every  horse  should  have 

Plate  I. 


Fig.  2. 

Chest  too  wide 


Fig.  4. 

Hocks  turned  in. 


well-sloped  shoulders.  Among  the  advantages  to 
the  animal  derived  from  this  conformation  are — 
greater  lightness  of  forehand,  and  consequently 
greater  chance  of  recovery  after  a  stumble  ;  less 
"  jar  "  to  the  fore  legs,  which  have  to  support  the 
whole  weight  of  the  fore  part  of  the  body ;  and 


14  THE  HORSE 

greater  freedom  of  movement  of  the  shoulders  and 
fore  legs.  The  shoulders  should  be  thin  and  free 
from  lumber  in  the  saddle-horse,  and  exactly  the 
opposite  in  the  cart  horse,  which  requires  to  throw 
a  lot  of  weight  into  the  collar.  The  two  best  in- 
dications of  the  amount  of  muscle  carried  by  the 
shoulders  are — the  dift'erence  in  level  between  the 
root  of  the  neck  and  the  shoulder,  and  the  width 
between  the  fore  legs  (Plate  I.  Figs.  2  and  3).  In 
the  hunter  or  racer  the  neck  should  run  into  the 
shoulder  with  an  almost  imperceptible  curve ;  in  a 
cart  horse  the  greater  development  of  the  muscles 
on  the  shoulder-blade  make  a  very  perceptible  dif- 
ference in  the  levels  of  the  two  parts,  and  the 
animal  has  consequently  a  marked  "  collar  place." 
In  the  harness  animal  is  required  the  happy 
medium,  as  the  absence  of  a  depression  wherein 
the  collar  can  lie  is  as  objectionable  as  is  a  con- 
formation too  nearly  approaching  that  of  the  heavy 
horse.  The  fore  legs  should  be  moderately  wide 
apart  (Plate  I.  Fig.  3) ;  but  when  viewed  from  the 
front  there  should  be  no  unnecessary  muscle  either 
on  the  outside  of  the  shoulder  or  between  the  legs. 
The  chest  should  be  deep  (Plate  I.  Fig.  3),  not 
wide  and  shallow  as  it  so  often  is  in  the  front 
view  (Plate  I.  Fig.  2). 


THE  HORSE  15 

The  withers  should  be  high,  but  their  leanness  is 
not  so  important  in  the  harness  as  in  the  saddle- 
horse.  They  should  extend  far  back  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  tail,  as  this  will  give  what  riders  call  a 
"  long  rein."  It  is  noticeable  that  hackneys,  which 
we  may  regard  as  an  essentially  exaggerated  type 
of  fancy  harness  horse,  have  as  a  rule  thick  necks, 
somewhat  loaded,  but  long,  v\'ell  laid  back  shoulders, 
and  not  over  high  withers,  so  presumably  this  con- 
formation is  necessary  to,  or  comes  as  a  sequence 
to,  exaggerated  action  and  considerable  speed  at 
the  trot.  The  objection  to  loaded  shoulders  is 
minimized  if  they  are  long  and  sloping,  and  the 
serious  drawback  of  straight  shoulders  is  to  some 
extent  compensated  for  if  the  horse  has  a  light 
head  and  neck  and  sloping  pasterns. 

Body 
Every  variety  of  horse  should  be  fairly  short  in 
back.  That  is  to  say,  the  distance  from  the 
posterior  termination  of  the  withers  to  the  promi- 
nence at  the  anterior  part  of  the  croup  (the  inner 
angle  of  the  pelvis)  should  be  short  if  the  horse  is 
to  have  the  greatest  power  of  propelling  his  body 
forward,  and  is  to  be  therefore  speedy.  The  loins 
should  be  flat  and  broad,  so  as  to  give  room  for  the 


16  THE  HORSE 

attachment  of  muscles  and  to  ensure  plenty  of 
space  for  the  important  organs  which  lie  beneath 
them.  All  classes  of  horses  should  be  "well 
ribbed  up,"  by  which  term  length  and  a  backward 
direction  of  the  back  ribs  is  understood.  Short- 
ness of  the  back  ribs  is  a  worse  fault  in  a  saddle 
than  in  a  harness  horse,  but  it  is  very  undeshable 
in  any  animal,  as  it  indicates  inability  to  "  sta}''." 
In  horses  in  hard  condition  a  badly  ribbed-up  con- 
formation will  be  evidenced  by  the  "  tucked  up  " 
appearance  of  the  individual.  The  straighter  and 
more  parallel  the  lower  line  of  the  body  is  with  the 
gi^ound,  the  greater  will  be  the  ability  of  the  horse 
to  stand  prolonged  exertion,  and  a  buyer  should 
always  look  for  a  good  depth  of  body  at  a  line 
dropped  vertically  fi^om  the  lowest  part  of  the 
back  (behind  the  withers)  to  behind  the  girth  place. 
A  good  spring  of  ribs  is  essential  to  all  horses,  al- 
though flatness  may  be  sometimes  compensated  for 
in  a  harness  horse  by  extra  depth. 

Htkd  Quaeters 
The  most  successful  race-horses  have  usually 
been  somewhat  narrow  behind ;  but  this  point  is 
not  desirable  in  any  other  variety  of  horse.     Ob- 
viously a  horse  which  has  to  hold  back  a  vehicle, 


THE  HORSE  17 

or  to  jump,  must  have  powerful  muscles  to  enable 
him  to  do  his  work  efficiently,  and  one  should  al- 
ways look  for  plenty  of  muscular  development  on 
the  croup  and  down  the  quarters.  Breadth  be- 
tween the  points  of  the  hip  bones  is  also  desirable 
(Plate  I.  Fig.  5).  It  must  always  be  remembered 
in  this  connection,  however,  that  the  hind  quarters 
must  be  in  proportion  to  the  fore  parts,  and  that  a 
horse  should  not  be  unduly  developed  in  one  part. 
Droopmg  hind  quarters  are  unobjectionable  though 
unsightly,  in  fact,  this  conformation  is  valued  in 
Irish  hunters.  On  the  score  of  appearance,  no 
doubt,  a  tail  set  on  high  and  carried  in  a  graceful 
curve  well  away  from  the  body  is  to  be  preferred, 
although  this  shape  has  no  mechanical  advantage. 

Fore  ai^d  Hii^d  Legs 
One  of  the  most  important  parts  of  equine  con- 
formation is  the  shape  of  the  legs.  Without 
good  legs  a  horse  will  be  quite  unable  to  stand 
work,  and,  next  to  the  feet,  more  attention  should 
be  paid  to  their  shape  and  make  than  to  any  other 
part  of  the  animal.  The  fore  legs  have  chiefly  to 
support  weight ;  the  hind  legs  to  propel  the  body. 
jN'aturally,  then,  one  must  look  for  powerful 
muscles  and  tendons  and  big  bones  to  vrhich  they 


18  THE  HORSE 

are  attached.  Successful  modern  thoroughbreds 
are  usually  leggy  ;  that  is  to  say,  their  height  at 
the  withers  is  greater  than  theu'  length  from  the 
point  of  the  shoulder  to  the  buttock,  and  this 
height  has  been  proved  to  be  usually  gained  by 
length  of  leg.  The  cart  horse,  on  the  contrary, 
has  short  legs,  consequently  his  length  is  greater 
than  liis  height.  As  it  is  not  a  galloping 
machine  that  is  wanted,  but  merely  a  well- 
balanced  harness  horse,  the  full-grown  animal 
should  be  slightly  longer  than  he  is  high  at  the 
withers,  as  such  conformation  indicates  a  sufficiency 
of  strength  for  harness  work.  At  the  same  time, 
the  greater  length  over  height  must  be  due  to 
shortness  of  the  legs,  and  not  to  either  abnormally 
low  withers  or  to  a  long,  badly  coupled  body.  The 
shortness  of  the  legs  should  be  gained  by  shortness 
of  the  bones  below  the  knees  and  hocks,  and  not 
by  shortness  of  the  foreanns  and  lower  thighs  or 
gaskins,  on  which  the  muscles  which  move  the 
legs  are  to  be  found.  The  gaskins  should  be  as 
wide  and  long  as  possible,  and  covered  with  plenty 
of  muscle,  and  are  important  parts  to  look  at  m 
buying  a  horse.  The  knees  should  be  large,  flat, 
and  bony;  also  the  hocks.  The  latter  must  be 
well  let  down  (Plate  II.  Fig.  12),  and  when  viewed 


THE  HORSE 

Plate  II. 


19 


Fig.  6.        Fig.  7.       Fig.  8. 

Calf  Knee.    Over  at  Knee.      Splint. 


Fig.  9. 

Ewe  Neck  and  Straight 
Shoulder. 


Fig.  10. 

Curb. 


Fig.  11. 

Spavin. 


Fig.  12. 

(5ood  Hock. 


Fig.  13. 

Good  Neck  and  Sloping 
Shoulder. 


20  THE  HORSE 

from  behind  should  be  straight  (Plate  I.  Fig.  5), 
and  turn  neither  in  nor  out  when  the  animal  is 
walking.  "Covr"  hocks  (hocks  in  which  the 
points  turn  in — Plate  I.  Fig.  4)  are  very  common 
in  hill  ponies  and  horses  with  pony  blood ;  but 
beyond  being  unsightly  they  are  not  a  serious  fault, 
and  are  infinitely  to  be  preferred  to  the  opposite 
fault  of  hocks  turned  too  much  out.  Horses  which 
turn  their  hocks  out  give  a  peculiar  "  ^vi^ench  "  to 
the  hind  leg  when  walking.  The  line  from  the 
back  of  the  leg  from  hock  to  pastern  should  be 
straight,  and  the  front  of  the  hock,  when  viewed 
from  the  side,  should  run  almost  imperceptibly 
down,  if  the  hock  is  well  let  down  and  the  bone 
below  it  large. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  the  leg  below  the 
knee.  The  straight er  the  line  of  the  back  of  the 
leg  (the  absence  of  a  "  tied-in  "  condition  below 
the  knee),  the  better  the  leg  may  be  considered. 
The  leg  should  have  great  width  when  viewed 
from  the  side,  and  the  tendons  should  be  plainly 
visible  beneath  the  skin  in  a  well-bred  animal. 
Horses  sometimes  stand  over  at  the  knees  (Plate 
II.  Fig.  7),  and  when  not  tem^porarily  due  to 
overwork,  this  formation  is  an  indication  of  in- 
sufficient development  of  the  large  muscle  on  the 


THE  HOESE  21 

upper  part  of  the  forearm.  It  is  objectionable  in 
a  saddle-horse,  but  of  less  consequence  in  harness. 
If  combined  with  straight  shoulders  and  with 
heavy  forehand  (shoulders,  chest,  neck,  and  head) 
and  a  tied-in  condition  below  the  knee,  it  is  dan- 
gerous in  any  class  of  horse,  as  the  animal  will 
always  be  falling  down.  Horses  with  straight 
shoulders  and  heavy  fore  part  are  "  built  to  fall 
down,"  and  should  be  avoided  for  any  class  of 
work.  Horses  with  "calf  knees"  (Plate  11. 
Fig.  6)  are  very  lial^le  to  strain  a  back  tendon 
when  putting  extra  weight  on  the  fore  legs,  as  in 
jumping,  cantering,  etc. 

Long  sloping  pasterns,  like  long  sloping  shoul- 
ders, are  important  factors  in  the  prevention  of 
jars,  and  hence  unsoundness.  Sloping  pasterns  are 
usually  an  indication  of  speed.  The  discomfort  to 
the  rider  of  a  horse  with  bad  shoulders  is  mini- 
mized by  long  pasterns,  so  that  it  is  a  point  which 
should  never  be  dispensed  with  in  a  saddle-horse. 
As  the  harness  horse  has  to  do  all  his  work  on 
hard  roads,  and  consequently  is  subjected  to  con- 
siderable shaking  if  the  "  springs  "  (shoulders  and 
pasterns)  are  not  so  formed  as  to  reduce  it,  long 
sloping  pasterns  should  be  looked  for  in  this  class 
also.     The  amount  of  jar  caused  by  a  horse  v:ith 


22  THE  HORSE 

straight  shoulders  and  pasterns  may  be  verified  by 
any  one  who  cares  to  ride  successively  horses  with 
both  parts  long  and  sloping,  with  both  parts  short 
and  straight,  with  straight  shoulders  and  long 
sloping  pasterns,  and  with  long  shaping  shoulders 
and  short,  straight  pasterns.  Of  the  last  three 
forms  the  verdict  will  be  in  favor  of  the  long 
pasterns  and  straight  shoulders  as  the  least  un- 
comfortable, and  as  the  jar  is  to  them  so  it  must 
be  to  the  horse,  and  it  is  impossible  to  lay  too 
much  stress  on  the  importance  of  good  pasterns 
in  harness  as  well  as  saddle-horses.  The  hind 
pasterns  are  ahvays  more  upright  than  the  fore ; 
but  a  condition  of  knuckling  over  is  due  to  ex- 
cessive work  or  to  working  a  colt  too  young.  In 
the  former  case  it  points  to  wealaiess  of  tendons. 
"When  viewed  from  the  front,  the  pasterns  should 
be  straight,  i.  e.,  the  feet  should  turn  neither  in 
nor  out.  Cart  horses  very  constantly  turn  their 
feet  in,  and  apparently  this  formation,  which  is 
most  obvious  when  going  up-hill,  has  some  ad- 
vantage when  moving  a  great  weight.  Short, 
straight  pasterns  are  of  mechanical  advantage  to 
a  cart  horse,  and  as  these  animals  have  not  to 
travel  fast  there  is  no  objection  to  this  formation 
if  the  shoulders  are  long  and  sloj)ing. 


THE  HORSE  23 

TThen  looking  at  a  horse,  it  is  advisable  to  note 
whether  he  has  plenty  of  "  bone,"  i.  e.,  that  his 
legs  are  not  too  small  for  his  body,  or,  in  another 
way  of  putting  it,  that  he  is  not  heavy-topped.  A 
horse  can  hai-dly  have  too  great  a  width  of  leg, 
provided  it  feels  clean  and  firm  to  the  touch. 
Many  horses  shown  in  excessively  fat  condition 
may  appear  heavy-topped,  particularly  stalhons ; 
but  the  pm^chaser  must  not  allow  himself  to  be 
deceived  by  fat,  and  must  judge  of  the  actual  size 
of  the  body  by  the  proportion  between  the  size  of 
the  head,  the  shape  of  the  chest,  the  width  of  the 
quarters,  etc.,  and  the  legs.  It  may  be  added  that 
it  is  almost  impossible  to  fairly  judge  a  very  fat 
horse  in  some  points,  such  as  back  ribs,  as  the  ac- 
cumulation of  fat  may  completely  hide  the  true 
shape. 

Feet 
"Without  good  feet  a  horse  is  useless  for  any 
purpose.  (See  Chapter  YIII.)  Chestnut  horses  are 
reputed  to  have  worse  feet  than  horses  of  any  other 
color ;  and  it  is  notorious  that  the  big  cart  horses 
err  in  this  respect  to  a  terrible  extent.  The  outer 
wall  of  the  hoof  should  be  hard  and  firm  and  free 
from  ridges,  and  should  not  be  unduly  spread. 


24  THE  HOKSE 

When  lifted  up,  the  buyer  should  note  whether 
the  frog  of  the  foot  is  well  developed  and  free 
from  offensive  odor.  A  deep  cleft  in  the  frog, 
and  an  unpleasant,  characteristic  smell  indicate 
thrtish,  and  although  it  is  rare  to  come  across  a 
horse  entirely  free  from  it,  yet  if  badly  developed, 
and  the  frog  shiiveled  in  appearance,  the  horse 
should  be  rejected.  In  a  perfectly  healthy  foot 
the  cleft  of  the  frog  is  only  a  slight  depression, 
and  not  the  deep  split  so  constantly  seen.  Con- 
tracted feet  are  less  objectionable  than  wide-spread 
feet,  as  the  former  may  be  improved  by  care  and 
attention,  whereas  nothing  much  can  be  done  to 
the  latter  to  make  them  permanently  sound,  and 
a  horse  with  such  feet,  if  put  to  fast  road  work, 
will  be  likely  to  develop  fever  in  the  feet,  or  some 
such  complaint. 

AcTioisr 
Conformation  makes  the  action.  For  road  work, 
exaggerated  knee  and  hock  action  is  out  of  the 
question,  and  undesirable  in  every  respect.  At 
the  same  time,  it  is  highly  desirable  that  a  horse 
should  throw  both  fore  and  hind  legs  well  forward. 
A  long  stride  is  obtained  by  good  shoulder  action, 
but  it  is  of  little  advantage  if  the  horse  drags  his 


THE  HORSE  25 

hind  legs.  At  the  walk  and  trot  the  marks  of 
the  hmd  feet  should  certainly  cover,  and  perhaps 
overreach,  the  marks  of  the  fore  feet,  and  the 
more  they  do  so,  provided  the  animal  also  thi'ows 
out  his  fore  legs  well  from  the  shoulder,  the  more 
rapidly  wdll  he  cover  the  ground  with  a  minimum 
of  exertion.  As  long  as  the  feet  are  lifted  high 
enough  to  clear  the  ground  there  is  no  advantage 
in  knee  action,  and  the  exaggerated  up-and-down 
knee  action  of  some  hackneys  is  objectionable  in 
every  way.  Such  horses  have  no  pace,  and  they 
quickly  hammer  their  legs  to  pieces  on  the  road. 
In  the  ideal  action  of  the  roadster  the  fore  and 
hind  legs  are  flung  well  forward,  the  former  being 
straightened  before  touching  the  ground,  and  the 
whole  movement  suggests  to  the  eye  freedom 
without  effort. 

When  viewed  from  behind,  the  legs  of  each  side 
should  follow  exactly  the  same  course.  This  con- 
dition will  not  be  attained  if  a  horse  "  dishes,"  or 
goes  wide  behind  or  in  front,  or  crosses  his  legs. 
Dishing,  or  the  flinging  outward  of  either  or  both 
fore  feet,  is  very  common,  and  although,  of  course, 
a  fault,  yet  it  is  less  objectionable  than  some  if  not 
too  marked.  No  horse  which  goes  wide  in  front 
is  speedy,  and  it  will  generally  be  found  that  of 


26  THE  HORSE 

the  two  conformations,  going  too  wide,  or  going 
too  close  or  brushing,  the  animal  which  does  the 
latter  is  the  fastest.  Some  very  fast  horses  go 
wide  behind,  but  the  peculiarity  is  unsightly. 

One  of  the  best  tests  of  soundness,  action,  and 
conformation  is  to  have  the  horse  trotted  down  a 
fauiy  steep  hill.  By  his  manner  of  going  a  fau' 
estimate  of  his  value  can  at  once  be  made. 

Geneeal  Appeaeaxce 
A  horse  may  have  every  desu^able  point  of  con- 
formation and  yet  be  an  extremely  ugly  animal. 
"When  looking  at  horses,  the  pm'chaser  should  en- 
deavor to  find  one  w^hich  has  no  bad  points,  and  if 
he  can  find  it  he  may  buy  it  knowing  that  it  will 
be  useful,  and  likely  to  last  him  for  years,  how- 
ever ugh^  it  may  be.  Of  course,  good  looks  in 
addition  are  desu^able,  but  they  have  to  be  paid 
for  at  a  rate  far  in  excess  of  theii'  practical 
value.  Therefore  the  average  individual  will  be 
fortunate  if  he  is  strong  enough  not  to  succumb 
to  the  temptation  of  buying  an  animal  with  some 
good  or  taking  points  in  exaggerated  degree,  and 
also  some  bad  ones,  and  confines  his  attention  to 
searching  for  a  horse  which  Is  absolutely  free 
from  any  which  the  most  critical  judge  could  des- 


THE  HORSE  27 

ignate  "  bad."  Every  bad  point  is  a  weakness,  it 
must  be  remembered,  and,  as  such,  liable  at  any- 
time to  cause  the  breakdo\vn  of  the  entu'e  animal. 

Age  foe  Work 
A  horse  is  probably  at  his  very  best  at  six  years 
of  age.  It  is  never  wise  to  purchase  one  of  less 
than  fom*  for  moderate  work,  or  under  five  for 
hard  work.  Horses  which  are  "out  of  mark," 
i.  e.^  over  eight  years  of  age,  if  well  formed  and 
sound,  are  often  likely  to  be  more  useful  for  hard 
work  than  younger  ones.  At  this  age,  if  they 
possess  weaknesses  they  will,  under  ordinary  con- 
ditions, have  already  broken  do^vn,  so  that  it  may 
be  taken  as  a  broad  rule  that  a  sound  old  horse  is 
generally  a  good  horse,  and  for  light  harness  work, 
or  work  which  is  not  too  fast,  there  is  no  reason 
why  an  animal  should  not  last  until  it  is  well  into 
the  twenties. 

Blemishes  and  Uis-soui^dness 

The  vendor  of  a  broken-lmeed  horse  always  has 
a  plausible  tale  of  the  exact  manner  in  which  the 
accident  occurred,  and  it  always  is  an  accident, 
and  never  due  to  any  fault  on  the  part  of  the 
horse.     In  nine  cases  out   of  ten,  however,  the 


28  THE  HOKSE 

cause  is  due  to  faulty  conformation,  and,  under 
such  circumstances,  it  is  a  certainty  that  the  horse 
will  fall  again  sooner  or  later,  however  carefully 
driven.  Horses  which  are  straight  shouldered 
and  heavy  in  front,  as  already  remarked,  should 
be  looked  at  with  suspicion,  and  if,  in  addition  to 
this,  they  already  have  telltale  marks,  they  should 
be  carefully  avoided.  When  a  horse  is  well  made, 
and  has  a  light  head  and  neck,  the  cause  of  the 
broken  knees  must  be  looked  for  elsewhere,  and 
one  should  either  suspect  thi'ush,  or  that  the  horse 
had  fallen  from  some  kind  of  sunstroke,  in  both 
of  which  cases  the  accident  is  unlikely  to  re-occur 
if  reasonable  care  is  taken  to  avoid  the  unfavor- 
able conditions.  Many  scars  about  the  hocks  in- 
dicate that  the  animal  is  a  kicker. 

There  are  several  conditions  which,  although 
they  come  under  the  technical  head  of  unsound- 
ness, yet  may  not  interfere  with  the  working  ca- 
pacity of  the  animal.  In  the  case  of  splints  (Plate 
11.  Fig.  3),  for  instance,  the  cause  and  position  are 
the  important  factors  to  consider  before  rejecting 
an  animal  which  has  one.  If,  as  is  often  the  case, 
they  are  caused  by  the  horse  having  been  worked 
too  young,  and  while  the  bones  and  ligaments  are 
unlit,  they  will  be  less  liable  to  incapacitate  the 


THE  HORSE  29 

animal  than  if  they  were  formed  in  adult  life  be- 
cause of  defective  conformation.  When  fully 
formed  they  do  not,  as  a  rule,  in  themselves  cause 
lameness.  But  if  placed  in  such  a  position  that 
they  are  hkely  to  be  hit  by  the  other  leg,  or  are 
likely  to  interfere  ^vith  the  passage  of  the  tendons 
and  ligaments,  they  may  become  a  serious  evil. 
Therefore,  if  a  horse  has  a  splint  high  up  near  the 
knee  where  it  may  be  struck  by  the  other  leg,  or 
far  back  where  it  may  interfere  Avith  tendons  and 
ligaments,  or  on  both  sides  of  the  leg,  which 
v\^ould  indicate  great  weakness  of  the  structures, 
it  should  be  rejected. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  curbs  (Plate  II. 
Fig.  10)  and  spavins  (Plate  II.  Fig.  11).  Of  course, 
a  horse  with  such  is  unsound ;  but  if  it  is  not 
lame,  and  its  action  is  in  no  way  interfered  mth 
by  the  defects,  it  may  be  good  for  many  years' 
w^ork,  although  its  value  as  a  saleable  animal  is 
much  reduced  by  their  presence. 

Few  horses  are  without  a  few  wind-galls ;  but 
they  constitute  unsoundness  only  if  they  cause 
lameness. 

Cutting,  clicldng,  and  overreaching  do  not 
come  under  this  category,  although  "  contraction 
of  the  hoof  "  should  be  considered  an  unsoundness 


30  THE  HOESE 

as  are  also  grease,  saddle-galls,  and  shivering,  so 
that  it  is  within  the  power  of  the  sharp  buyer  to 
get  a  considerable  reduction  in  the  price  of  an 
animal  with  one  of  these  complaints,  on  the  score 
that  it  is  not  wholly  sound. 

It  must  always  be  remembered  that  curbs  may 
be  sprung  in  a  moment,  splints  developed  in  a 
few  hours,  spavin  thi^own  out  in  a  day  or  two, 
and  other  defects,  such  as  roaring,  rapidly  de- 
veloped, so  that  it  is  possible  to  buy  an  apparently 
sound  horse  one  day,  and  find  that,  through  no 
dishonesty  on  the  part  of  the  vendor,  he  is  un- 
sound a  day  or  two  later. 


CHAPTER  II 
How  to  Tell  a  Horse^s  Age 

The  age  of  a  horse  is  to  be  accurately  de- 
termined only  by  an  examination  of  the  teeth, 
with  a  knowledge  of  the  changes,  w^iich,  from 
time  to  time,  take  place  in  them.  The  following 
directions,  studied  in  connection  with  the  accom- 
panying diagrams  of  the  lower  jaw,  will  enable  any 
one  of  ordinary  acuteness  and  powers  of  observa- 
tion to  judge  for  himself,  and  thus  to  avoid  that 
most  common  of  all  the  dealer's  impositions,  a 
liability  to  be  deceived  in  the  age  of  horses  held 
for  sale. 

The  incisors  furnish  the  chief  indications  ;  and 
to  them  the  attention  must  be  mostly  directed ; 
but  the  back  and  hook  teeth  should  be  observed 
to  some  extent,  as  their  condition  may  occasion- 
ally serve  to  correct  and  more  frequently  to  cor- 
roborate the  indication  of  the  incisors. 

When  first  foaled,  the  colt  has  no  incisors. 
31 


32  THE  HORSE 


Fig.  14. — Lower  jaw  at  two  and  a  half  years. 


THE  HORSE  33 

Twelve  back  teeth  have  in  most  cases  forced  their 
points  by  this  time  through  the  gums ;  but  it  is 
not  until  from  two  or  three  months  afterward  that 
the  four  nippers  appear  ;  in  six  weeks  the  nippers 
are  seen;  and  in  about  eight  months  the  four 
corner  teeth.  There  are  now,  at  eight  or  nine 
months  old,  twenty-four  teeth  (upper  and  lower), 
called  foal-teeth.  These  are  all  changed  by  the 
fifth  or  sixth  year,  and  those  that  follow  are 
called  horse-teeth. 

The  back  teeth  appear  as  follows:  the  three 
front  double  pair  are  seen  at  birth,  and  are  after- 
ward changed ;  the  fourth  double  pair  appear 
from  the  eighth  to  the  ninth  month  (this  fourth 
double  pair  are  the  first  that  remain  stationary, 
and  they  are  found  in  every  year-old  colt) ;  the 
fifth  double  pair,  or  fifth  four,  appear  in  the 
second  or  third  year;  the  sixth  usually  in  the 
fourth  or  early  in  the  fifth  year.  These  three 
double  pairs  of  back  teeth  (last  named)  remain 
unchanged,  as  do  also  the  four  hook  teeth. 

The  hook  teeth  are  uncertain  as  to  appearance, 
coming  sometimes  at  the  end  of  the  third  year, 
sometimes  in  the  middle  or  at  the  end  of  the 
fourth,  sometimes  in  the  middle  or  at  the  end  of 
the  fifth,  sometimes  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixth. 


34 


THE  HOBSE 


Fig.  15.— Lower  jaw  at  three  and  a  half  years. 


THE  HOESE  36 

Observe  particularly  that  the  incisors  of  the 
foal  differ  from  those  of  the  horse  (1)  by  their 
regular,  conical  formation ;  (2)  by  a  narrow  con- 
traction called  the  neck,  visible  almost  in  the 
centre  of  the  body  of  each  tooth,  while  nothing 
of  the  kind  is  seen  in  horse-teeth ;  (3)  by  their 
smaller  size,  even  when  full  grown.  The  milk 
teeth  (or  those  teeth  which  are  cast  or  shed), 
taken  from  the  jaws  of  dead  foals  and  compared 
with  horse- teeth  similarly  obtained,  are  found  to 
be  only  about  half  as  long  as  the  latter.  The 
breadth  is  not  to  be  depended  on,  since  the  milk 
teeth  of  larger  foals  appear  ahnost  as  broad  as 
those  of  small  horses.  When  the  nippers  become 
horse-teeth,  they  form  a  great  contrast  to  the 
middle  and  corner  teeth.  The  size  of  these  last 
will  at  once  show  them  to  be  milk  teeth.  (4)  By 
the  fact  that  the  outer  surface  of  the  foal-teeth  is 
smooth  and  striped  with  brown,  while  on  horse- 
teeth  the  same  surface  is  divided  by  a  dirty  yel- 
low indentation  inclining  toward  the  centre,  which 
is  sometimes  double  upon  the  upper  teeth. 

One  should  study  the  form  of  the  incisors  by 
carefully  examining  those  taken  from  dead  horses 
of  different  ages.  Each  incisor  will  be  found  to 
consist  of  a  hard,  enameled  part,  called  the  grinder, 


86 


THE  HORSE 


Fig.  16.— Lower  jaw  at  four  and  a  half  years. 


THE  HORSE  37 

which  has  protruded  above  the  gum ;  of  a  bony 
substance,  which  has  been  for  the  most  part  hid- 
den in  the  gum  ;  and  of  a  root,  which  has  occupied 
the  cavity  of  the  jaw-bone. 

These  teeth  (of  the  foal  as  well  as  of  the  horse) 
are  slowly  bat  continually  worn  away  by  biting 
and  chewing,  so  that  the  length  is  constantly  de- 
creasing,— sometimes  evenly  and  regularly, — so 
that  in  old  age  the  tooth  that  was  once  two  and  a 
half  inches  long  is  found  to  be  not  exceeding  half 
an  inch  in  length.  The  breadth  generally  de- 
creases in  about  the  same  proportion ;  but  with 
this  diiference  in  foal  and  horse-teeth,  that  the 
thickness  and  breadth  of  the  foal-teeth  are  con- 
stantly decreasing  from  the  grinder  or  hard  enam- 
eled part  to  the  end  of  the  root,  while  horse-teeth 
decrease  from  the  root  upward.  The  grinder,  or 
hard,  grating  portion  of  the  tooth,  which  has  not 
yet  been  used,  has  somewhat  the  form  of  an  egg  ; 
it  is  ttiree  times  as  broad  as  thick,  and  hollowed 
out  in  the  shape  of  a  funnel,  which  hollow  has  two 
sharp  edges  inclosing  it.  This  socket  or  hollow  is 
called  the  7na7'k.  In  the  centre  of  this  mark,  a 
sort  of  kernel  may  be  seen — a  tube  commencing  at 
the  end  of  the  root — that  contains  the  nerves  of 
the  tooth  ;  but  this  inner  hole  must  always  be  dis- 


38 


THE  HORSE 


Fig.  17. — Lower  jaw  at  five  years. 


THE  HORSE  39 

tinguished  from  the  mark,  which  is  the  outer  de- 
pression, lying  next  to  the  sharp  edges.  The  inner 
cavity  is  a  funnel-shaped  socket,  of  hard,  enamel 
shell,  around  which,  and  inside  the  outward  shell, 
is  a  thick  fluid,  which  remains  during  the  life  of 
the  tooth,  becoming,  by  degrees,  gray  matter. 
This  fluid  averages  about  four  lines  in  depth  in  the 
lower  incisors  and  about  eight  in  the  upper  ones. 

The  outer  edge  of  each  incisor  always  rises  a 
line  or  two  above  the  inner  edge  ;  therefore,  when 
the  upper  and  lower  are  fii'st  grated  together,  only 
the  outer  edges  touch  for  some  time ;  and  the  in- 
ner edges  do  not  touch  until  the  outer  ones  are 
worn  down  to  an  equal  height  with  them.  Horse- 
teeth  generally  do  this  in  about  one  year.  At  the 
age  of  two  and  a  half,  the  teeth  begin  to  change, 
and  those  which  then  appear  are  called  horse- 
teeth. 

A  full-grown  stallion  or  gelding  has  forty,  and 
a  mare  thirty-six  teeth — the  male  having  four 
hook-teeth  which  are  lacking  in  the  female,  except 
that  sometimes  she  has  imperfect  teeth  in  the  cor- 
responding part  of  the  mouth.  Those  teeth  found 
in  some  young  horses,  next  to  the  first  double 
teeth,  and  called  "  wolf  teeth,"  are  not  included  in 
this  number,  as  they  are  not  real  teeth, — frequently 


40  THE  HORSE 


Fig.  18.— Lower  jaw  at  six  years. 


THE  HORSE  4:1 

not  breaking  thi'ough  the  gums  at  all,  and  usually, 
in  any  case,  disappearing  in  eight  or  nine  years. 
Twenty-four  of  the  true  teeth,  in  both  horses  and 
mares,  are  situated  in  the  upper  part  of  the  mouth 
(that  is,  in  both  jaws,  ahove  the  lijps).  They  are 
divided  into  six  double  pairs,  counting  upward 
from  below,  so  that  those  situated  next  to  the  in- 
cisors in  all  the  four  rows  are  first ;  those  next  to 
them,  second  ;  and  so  on  to  the  last  pair,  which 
are  called  the  back  teeth. 

Twelve  others  are  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
mouth,  surrounded  by  the  lips,  six  in  the  upper 
and  six  in  the  lower  jaw,  standing,  each  lot,  in  the 
form  of  an  arch,  and  occupying  the  entrance  to 
the  hollow  of  the  mouth.  These  twelve  are  called 
incisors.  The  four  innermost,  two  in  each  jaw — 
these  forming  the  key  of  each  arch — are  called 
nippers  ;  the  other  two  in  each  arch  are  called  the 
corner  teeth,  and  those  between  the  nippers  and 
the  corner  teeth  are  called  middle  teeth.  Each  of 
these  teeth  in  the  lower  jaw  rubs  against  the  cor- 
responding one  in  the  upper  jaw.  The  teeth  of 
the  upper  jaw  are  broader  and  thicker  than  those 
of  the  lower.  The  four  hooks  are  seated  alone, 
over  each  corner  tooth,  but  nearer  to  the  corner 
teeth  of  the  upper  than  those  of  tiie  lower,  so  that 


42 


THE  HOESE 


Fig.  19. — Lower  jaw  at  seven  years. 


THE  HORSE  43 

they  (the  hooks)  never  come  in  contact  with  each 
other. 

The  horse  has  always  attained  the  age  of  four 
and  a  half  or  five  years  before  he  has  a  full  num- 
ber of  perfect  teeth.  Before  this  time,  the  younger 
the  animal  the  fewer  the  teeth,  and  even  these  are 
not  all  permanent. 

The  more  a  permanent  incisor  loses  in  length, 
by  friction,  the  more  it  also  loses  in  width,  so 
that  the  nearer  the  friction  surface  approaches  to 
the  root,  the  narrower  and  thicker  it  must  appear. 

Every  new  hook  tooth  is  cylindrical  and  some- 
what hooked,  with  a  cone-shaped  projecting 
grinder,  and  this  is  surrounded  by  a  spoon-shaped 
edge,  turned  toward  the  hollow  of  the  mouth,  so 
that  the  cone  cannot  be  seen  from  the  outside ; 
and  the  whole  grinder,  or  hard,  enameled  part, 
has  the  appearance  of  the  back  part  of  the  bowl  of 
a  spoon — the  edge,  like  a  screen,  surrounding  the 
short  cone,  but  so  that  two  deep  furrows  remain 
between.  Except  this  grinder,  the  rest  of  the 
body  is  uniformly  round  and  the  surface  almost 
even.  As  previously  said,  however,  these  by 
themselves  afford  no  reliable  indication  as  to  age. 

Large  horses  have,  of  course,  larger  teeth  than 
small  ones  ;  but  taking  a  horse  of  medium  size  as 


u 


THE  HORSE 


Fig.  20.— Lower  jaw  at  eight  yeais. 


THE  HORSE  46 

a*  standard,  one  can  make  allowances  for  either 
larger  or  smaller,  and  easily  arrive  at  just  con- 
clusions. 

The  incisors  being  our  main  reliance,  our  re- 
marks must  be  understood  to  refer  chiefly  to  them. 
The  length  of  the  tooth  of  a  horse  of  medium  size 
is  three  inches,  or  thirty-six  lines.  After  the 
changed  tooth  has  arrived  at  its  proper  length,  it 
shoots  up  a  line  regularly  every  year,  and  if  the 
teeth  stand  right,  the  grinder  is  worn  off  a  line 
every  year.  It  is  also,  as  has  been  said,  worn  off 
in  both  width  and  breadth,  so  that  the  grinder  be- 
comes, from  year  to  year,  shorter  and  smaller,  as 
shown  by  the  chart. 

If,  however,  the  teeth  stand  too  far  forward 
(irregular  teeth)  they  do  not  wear  down  in  the 
same  proportion  as  they  shoot  upward,  and  they 
become  very  long.  The  age  in  this  case  can  be 
ascertained  with  ease  and  exactness  by  observing 
with  care  the  following  points  :  At  the  age  of  five 
years,  the  corner  teeth  of  the  lower  jaw  have 
grown  up  ^ve  lines  above  the  gum ;  each  middle 
tooth,  seven  lines ;  and  each  upper,  nine.  At 
eight  years,  and  older,  each  corner  tooth  of  the 
same  horse  projects  only  four,  the  middle,  six,  and 
the  nippers,  eight  lines  above  the  gums.     This  is 


46 


THE  HORSE 


Fia.  Sl.—Lower  jaw  at  nine  years. 


THE  HOUSE  47 

absolutely  necessary  to  be  taken  into  account,  be- 
cause it  is  the  only  means  by  which  one  can  de- 
cide with  certainty  as  to  the  age  of  a  horse  whose 
teeth  have  become  longer  than  they  would  have 
been  if  set  right  and  wearing  regularly. 

The  foregoing  remarks  and  du^ections  are  based 
upon  the  assumption  that  there  is  no  peculiarity 
about  the  individual  animal  or  the  breed  to  Avhich 
he  belongs  that  would  materially  interfere  with 
the  principles  laid  down.  It  remains,  however, 
to  notice  that  to  those  breeds  of  horses  which  de- 
velop very  slowly,  of  which  the  Spanish  horse  may 
be  cited  as  an  example,  the  rules  are  a  little  more 
difficult  of  application.  The  bones  of  these,  and 
perhaps  of  some  few  other  kinds,  seem  to  be  harder, 
and  the  teeth  change  somewhat  later  and  appear 
to  wear  down  more  slowly  ;  so  that  it  sometimes 
happens  that  such  horses,  after  their  fifth  year 
appear  a  year  or  two  younger  than  they  really 
are  ;  but  the  same  animals  are  apt  to  be  more  than 
ordinarily  strong,  hardy,  and  long-lived,  and  to  be 
taken  at  a  diminished  age  really  detracts  nothing 
from  their  worth. 

The  age  of  a  mule  is  somewJiat  difficult  to  deter- 
mine with  exactness,  owing  to  the  cause  just  stated. 

Deceptions  may  be  practiced  with  very  thrifty 


48 


THE  HORSE 


Fig.  22.— Lower  jaw  at  ten  years. 


THE  HOESE  49 

young  horses,  when  it  is  desirable  to  make  them 
appear  of  suitable  age  for  work  or  for  breeding, 
by  knocking  out  the  incisors  a  year  sooner  than 
they  would  naturally  change  themselves.  If  a 
purchaser  suspects  deception,  he  can  determine  the 
matter  by  closely  examining  the  remaining  teeth. 
If  the  nippers  have  changed,  and  the  inner  edges 
of  the  corner  teeth  have  not  yet  come  into  con- 
tact, the  foal  is  but  one  year  old — and  so  on. 

The  opposite  cheat — that  of  trying  to  make  a 
horse  appear  younger  than  he  really  is  by  burning 
artificial  marks  in  upon  the  teeth — can  be  detected 
by  closely  examining  the  enamel  and  the  effect  of 
the  mark  upon  it.  When  a  horse  has  reached  an 
advanced  age,  say  twelve  to  twenty,  the  enameled 
surface  has  become  so  minute  that  burning  in  as 
large  a  mark  as  is  found  in  horses  considerably 
younger  would  disturb  the  whole  enamel  and  so 
leave  a  means  of  detecting  the  fraud. 

In  the  case  of  crib-biters,  that  wear  out  their 
teeth  prematurely,  and  so  appear  really  older  than 
they  are,  examination  must  be  directed  to  the 
corner  teeth,  which  are  seldom  injured  ;  or,  if  the 
corner  teeth  prove  to  be  injured,  deduct  from  the 
apparent  age  as  many  lines  as  are  wanting  to  make 
the  teeth  of  the  natural  length.     To  feed   con- 


50 


THE  HORSE 


-^ 


Fig.  23.— Lower  jaw  at  twelve  years. 


THE  HORSE 


51 


Fia.  24.— Lower  jaw  at  fifteen  years. 


52  THE  HORSE 

stantly,  from  weaning  time,  upon  hard,  mishelled 
corn,  sometimes  produces  the  same  effect  as  crib- 
biting,  and  the  same  du^ections  must  be  followed 
in  forming  an  estimate. 


THE  HOKSE 


53 


Fig.  26.— Lower  jaw  at  twenty  years. 


CHAPTER  III 
Sound  and  Unsound  Horses 

So  much  importance  is  attached  to  what  is 
technicallj  called  soundness  in  a  horse,  and  the 
value  of  an  animal  is  so  remarkably  depreciated 
if  it  fails  to  come  up  to  the  somewhat  high 
standard  expected  by  the  average  buyer,  that  a 
chapter  devoted  to  the  subject  may  not  be  out  of 
place. 

First  of  all,  unsoundness  is  usually  defined  as 
the  disease  or  alteration  of  structure,  which  ren- 
ders, or  will  render,  a  horse  less  capable  of  per- 
forming the  work  required  of  it.  This  definition 
is  not  very  satisfactory,  however,  because,  as  we 
shall  show,  many  horses  are  technically  unsound, 
yet  are  perfectly  capable  of  doing  all  the  work 
required  of  them  for  a  great  number  of  years.  It 
is  possible  that  too  much  stress  is  sometimes  laid 
upon  soundness.  For  instance,  a  case  may  be 
cited  in  which  the  buyers  of  a  cob  insisted  upon 
absolute  soundness,  and  rejected  a  number  of 
useful,  mature  animals,  each  of  which  was  tech- 

54: 


THE  HORSE  56 

nically  unsound  in  some  respect ;  yet  they 
eventually  bought  a  pony  which  was  passed  as 
absolutely  sound  in  Avind,  limb,  and  eye,  but  which 
gave  them  endless  trouble  and  expense  owing  to 
a  weak  and  disordered  digestion. 

Owing  to  the  iron  shoes,  the  hard  roads,  the 
rapid  and  continuous  trotting,  and  the  heavy  loads 
which  have  to  be  moved,  inflammation  is  constantly 
set  up  in  the  bones,  tendons,  or  ligaments  of  the 
legs.  When  one  considers  the  unnatural  con- 
ditions under  which  horses  labor,  the  wonder  is, 
perhaps,  that  any  ever  reach  maturity  without 
some  abnormal  condition  as  the  result  of  "  work." 
It  is  those  points  of  conformation  which  centuries 
of  experience  have  proved  to  man  to  be  best  able 
to  stand  work,  which  are  the  ones  sought  for  by 
horse-owners,  and  a  Avell-shaped  hock,  say,  is 
literally  one  which  is  put  together  in  such  a  way 
as  to  be  able  to  stand  unaltered  the  malign  in- 
fluences of  violent  concussions  and  sudden  strains. 

A  cuiious  corroboration  of  the  beneficial  result 
of  the  continual  selection  of  horses  with  certain 
points  for  w^ork  has  of  recent  years  come  to  light. 
In  South  Africa  an  endeavor  has  been  made  to 
utilize  zebras  for  harness  purposes,  but  the  serious 
attempt  had  soon  to  be  abandoned,  as  they  were 


56  THE  HORSE 

found  to  be  much  too  "  soft."  Zebra  hybrids,  of 
which  at  one  time  such  great  things  were  ex- 
pected, have  also  proved  to  be  unfitted  for  very 
hard  work,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
wild  horses,  originally  domesticated  by  om'  re- 
mote ancestors,  were  as  little  adapted  for  hard 
labor  as  their  wild  relatives  are  at  the  present 
day.  A  comparison  of  the  hocks  of  the  wild  and 
tame  Equidse  will  reveal  the  differences  brought 
about  by  artificial  selection. 

Yeteeinary  Examination 
If  the  prospective  buyer  has  submitted  a  horse 
to  a  veterinary  examination  and  it  is  passed  as 
sound,  he  usually  considers  that  he  has  done  all 
that  is  necessary,  and  is  bound  to  have  a  good 
animal.  It  must  be  pointed  out,  however,  that  a 
certificate  of  soundness  is  far  from  representing  an 
animal's  true  worth.  Presuming  that  the  veteri- 
nary surgeon  is  well  up  in  his  duties,  and  is  also  a 
good  judge  of  a  horse — two  qualifications  not 
always  obtainable  in  every  country  practitioner — 
it  is  yet  only  his  duty  to  say  whether  or  not  a 
horse  is  sound  at  the  time  it  comes  under  his 
notice.  This  is  what  he  is  paid  to  do,  and  a 
veterinary  surgeon  would  be  exceeding  his  duties, 


THE  HOESE  57 

and  also  the  professional  etiquette  of  his  attitude 
toward  the  seller,  if  he  was  to  volunteer  an 
opinion  as  to  the  quahty  of  the  horse  or  its  suit- 
ability for  any  special  purpose.  Therefore  a 
buyer  can,  and  must,  only  legitimately  expect  to 
be  informed  whether  a  horse  is  technically  sound, 
and  herein,  no  doubt,  lies  the  pitfall  into  which  a 
great  number  of  people,  who  know  very  little 
about  horses,  stumble. 

The  usual  form  of  veterinary  certificate  sets 
out  a  description  of  the  animal,  and  possibly 
mentions  either  that,  owing  to  some  specified 
defect,  the  animal  is,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer, 
unsound,  or  else  that  it  has  certain  minor  defects, 
such  as  a  splint,  cracked  heels,  etc.,  but  is  other- 
wise, in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  sound. 

A  horse  may  have  minor  defects  such  as  the 
above-mentioned,  yet  if  he  is  not  lame,  and  the 
defect  does  not  seem  to  detract  from  his  natural 
movement,  he  is,  at  the  moment,  sound.  It  is  not 
the  veterinary  surgeon's  duty,  even  if  he  could 
tell  (which  is  unlikely,  unless  he  has  had  an 
intimate  previous  acquaintance  with  the  horse), 
to  say  whether  the  temporary  defect  is  likely  to 
get  worse  and  incapacitate  it  from  work  a  few 
days  or  weeks  later.    Thus  the    value    of  the 


58  THE  HOESE 

examination  is,  comparatively  speaking,  nil^  un- 
less the  would-be  buyer  is  sufficiently  up  in 
veterinary  matters  to  be  able  to  put  an  exact 
value  on  the  information  gained,  in  which  case 
he  would  probably  not  require  the  services  of  a 
veterinary  surgeon  at  all. 

Then,  again,  a  horse  may  be  passed  as  absolutely 
sound,  and  may  be  so  at  the  time,  yet  he  may  have 
hocks  so  badly  shaped  that  it  is  obvious  to  the 
initiated  that  he  will  be  likely  to  spring  a  curb  if 
hunted,  or  even  if  put  to  certain  sorts  of  carting 
work.  Or  he  may  have  the  combination  of  a 
heavy  body,  and  hoofs  which  almost  certainly 
suggest  laminitis  ;  he  may  even  have  only  recently 
come  up  from  a  long  run  at  grass,  necessitated  by 
this  or  some  other  disease,  yet  the  veterinary  sur- 
geon can  only  say  that  the  horse,  as  brought  be- 
fore him,  is  sound.  It  is  not  his  duty  to  take  a 
pessimistic  view,  to  point  out  weak  points  of  con- 
formation, or  to  prognosticate  possible  disaster  in 
the  future.  Thus  we  reiterate  that  the  value  of 
a  veterinary  certificate  of  soundness  is  small  com- 
pared to  the  value  of  certain  points  of  conforma- 
tion in  the  horse,  and  that  to  have  the  animal 
passed  as  sound  does  not  exempt  the  buyer  from 
the  necessity  of  exercising  or  obtaining  skilled  ad- 


THE  HORSE  59 

vice  on  the  general  make  and  shape  and  suitability 
of  the  animal  to  perform  a  certain  class  of  work 
without  breaking  down. 

Again,  if  the  horse  is  passed  as  unsound  because 
of  certain  specified  defects,  the  buyer  who  depends 
solely  upon  the  certificate  must  perforce  reject  it, 
and  may  at  the  same  time  lose  the  very  animal 
which  would  have  suited  him.  As  stated  earlier 
in  this  book,  a  horse  with  a  technical  unsoundness 
is  not  necessarily  unfit  for  moderate,  and  even  hard 
work,  and  it  is  only  by  a  knowledge  of  the  cause 
and  character  of  the  complaint  that  a  fair  estimate 
can  be  made  of  the  animal's  value.  A  certificate 
setting  forth  that  the  horse  is  unsound  is,  of  course, 
of  inestimable  value  to  the  knowing  man  who  is 
not  afraid,  under  certain  conditions,  to  buy  at  a 
reduced  price.  His  knowledge  may  tell  him  that 
the  horse  is  equal  to  performing  all  his  work  quite 
as  well  as  a  more  expensive  and  technically  sound 
one.  We  intend  to  deal  more  explicitly  with  the 
various  common  unsoundnesses,  and  to  show  the 
values  which  must  be  placed  upon  them  with 
reference  to  the  different  classes  of  work:  it  is 
hoped  that  to  start  with  we  have  made  clear  to 
the  uninitiated  that  a  sound  horse  is  not  neces- 
sarily either  a  good  or  useful  one,  and  have  drawn. 


60  THE  HORSE 

attention  to  the  fact  that  a  certificate  of  soundness 
does  not  invariably  qualify  a  horse  as  a  desirable 
acquisition  for  the  stable. 

Sometimes  a  horse  is  too  sound  for  its  age.  By 
this  somewhat  paradoxical  statement  we  mean  to 
imply  that  an  animal  of,  say,  seven  or  eight  years 
old,  which  shows  no  work,  is  an  object  of  suspicion. 
Few^  horses  can  do  a  fair  three  or  four  years'  work 
without  showing  wind-galls,  if  nothing  worse,  and 
an  enth^e  absence  of  these  concussion-indicators 
suggests  that  the  horse  has  been  kept  in  cotton- 
wool, and  has  for  some  reason  or  other  never 
earned  his  keep.  As  people  do  not  usually  keep 
horses  to  look  at,  the  inference  is  obvious.  The 
only  exception  to  this  rule  is  in  the  case  of  mares 
which  are  known  to  have  been  kept  for  breeding. 
For  a  reason  which  does  not  affect  their  working 
capacity,  they  may  have  had  to  be  drafted  out  of 
the  stud,  and  they  may  then  be  as  fresh  on  their 
legs  as  colts  when  they  come  into  the  worker's 
hands  at  a  mature  age. 

CUEB 

(See  Fig.  26.)  Curb  is  a  swelling  at  the  back  of, 
and  a  few  inches  below,  the  point  of  the  hock. 
It  can  only  be  seen  when  the  observer  is  standing 


THE  HORSE 


61 


a  short  distance  oif,  to  one  side  of  the  horse,  and 
square  with  the  suspected  leg.  As  the  accom- 
panying diagram  will  show,  the  horse's  hock  is 
composed  of  a  number  of  bones  (usually  six),  and 
a  broad  ligament,  not  shown  in  the  diagram,  fills 


Fig.  26.--Diagram  of  the  Inner  Side 
of  the  Oflf  Hook. 

1,  astragalus  ;  2,  os  calcis ;  3,  large  cuneiform ; 
4,  median  cuneiform  ;  5,  small  cuneiform  ;  6,  splint 
bone  ;  7,  cannon  bone  ;  8,  tibia  ;  9,  position  of  bone 
spavin;  10,  seat  of  bog  spavin  ;  11,  seat  of  thorough- 
pin  ;  12,  capped  hocli  ;  13.  seat  of  curb  ;  14,  perfo- 
ratus  tendon  ;  15,  space  filled  by  ligament,  injury 
to  which  causes  curb. 


62  THE  HORSE 

the  space  from  the  point  of  the  hock  between  the 
bones  and  the  perforatus  tendon.  This  ligament 
is  bound  by  fibres  to  the  edges  of  the  small  bones, 
and  acts,  in  conjunction  with  other  parts,  as  a 
lever  to  aid  in  propelHng  the  horse  forward.  Kow, 
in  certain  cases  the  fibrous  ligament  may  be  torn 
away  from  its  attachments,  or  otherwise  unduly 
strained  or  stretched,  with  the  result  that  the 
subsequent  disorganization  will  lead  to  a  swelling 
which  will  be  broadly  called  a  curb. 

A  simple  sprain  or  twist  of  the  ligament  may 
give  rise  to  a  curb,  but  om^  best  modern  authori- 
ties are  more  of  opinion  that  the  most  frequent 
accident  is  an  actual  tearing  away  of  the  fibres 
from  some  of  their  attachments.  The  consequent 
inflammation  leads  to  an  abnormal  thickening  and 
partial  ossification  at  the  seat  of  the  injury ;  hence 
at  the  point  where  the  ligaments  are  torn  away 
from  their  contact  with  the  bones,  a  lump  will 
form  which  will,  by  pushing  out  the  adjacent 
structures,  cause  a  curb  of  greater  or  lesser  di- 
mensions, according  to  the  extent  of  the  injury. 
Thus  a  curb  may  be  briefly  defined  as  a  thickening 
or  other  abnormal  condition  of  the  ligament  due 
to  its  injury.  As  a  rule,  the  tearing  away  is  in- 
sufiicient  to  cause  an  actual  displacement  of  the 


THE  HORSE  63 

small  bones  themselves ;  but  in  cases  of  serious 
injury,  the  cuboid  bone  may  actually  get  out  of  its 
normal  position,  may  press  the  ligamentous  brace 
outwards,  and  in  this  way  cause  a  bad  curb. 
Again,  the  seat  of  injury  may  be  the  head  of  the 
spUnt  bone,  or  the  cannon  bone,  in  which  case  en- 
largements i^not  technically  called  curbs)  will  ap- 
pear in  corresponding  positions. 

It  is  obvious  that  to  cause  a  serious  injury  to 
structure  such  as  have  been  described  a  horse 
must  either  have  been  put  to  an  unduly  severe 
strain,  or,  if  this  is  out  of  the  question,  must  have 
hocks  of  a  shape  and  constitution  which  predis- 
pose him  to  throw  out  a  curb  with  very  little  prov- 
ocation. 

We  have  abeady  mentioned  that  it  is  necessary 
to  stand  square  to  a  horse's  hind  leg  to  judge 
Tvhether  it  has  a  curb.  On  no  point,  perhaps,  in 
equine  conformation  does  so  great  a  diversity  of 
opinion  exist  as  to  the  presence  or  absence  of  this 
unsoundness.  Some  horses  have  what  are  called 
"  cur  by  "  hocks,  that  is,  hocks  which  are  not  well 
let  down,  and  which  have  very  prominent  heads 
to  the  splint  bones.  From  any  other  point  of 
view  but  the  orthodox  one,  they  are  often  mis- 
taken for  curbs,  owing  to  their  "  lumpy  "  appear- 


64:  THE  HORSE 

ance.  The  feel  with  the  hand  should  decide  the 
matter,  because,  if  the  appearance  be  due  to 
peculiar  conformation,  and  not  to  a  pathological 
condition,  the  course  of  the  back  tendons  will  be 
straight.  A  horse  does  not  very  often  have  curbs 
on  both  legs,  so  that  great  suspicion  should  be 
aroused  if  one  hock  differs  in  appearance  from 
the  other.  If  there  are,  indeed,  curbs  on  both 
legs,  the  animal  should  be  unhesitatingly  rejected 
as  quite  unfit  for  any  but  the  lightest  work. 

Having  decided  that  a  horse  has  a  curb,  the 
next  point  is  to  endeavor  to  find  out  its  exact 
natm^e,  and  when  and  how  it  was  acquired.  Ob- 
viously, if  the  curb  is  of  recent  origin  there  will  be 
inflammation,  and  the  horse  will  be  more  or  less 
lame  from  the  pain,  and  inclined  to  rest  the  leg. 
In  this  state  a  horse  should  never  be  bought  with 
the  expectation  that  he  will  be  shortly  fit  to  work 
again.  The  active  mischief  will  take  weeks  to 
repair,  and  the  horse  will  afterward  need  at  least 
a  six  weeks'  run  at  grass,  with  blistering  and  per- 
haps firing. 

A  moribund  curb,  however,  is  quite  another 
matter,  and  a  horse  with  the  disfigurement  may, 
under  certain  conditions  to  be  named  hereafter,  be 
almost  as  good  as  ever  he  was,  and  quite  worth 


THE  HORSE  65 

buying  for  some  classes  of  work.  The  first  point 
of  importance  is  to  ascertain  whether  the  hocks 
are  naturally  of  good  shape.  If  they  are,  it  is 
fau'ly  safe  to  assume  that  the  unsoundness  must 
have  been  caused  either  when  the  horse  was  very 
young,  or  else  by  some  unusual  and  extraordinary 
strain. 

Curbs  are  sprung  in  a  moment,  just  as  the  ankle 
in  the  human  being  may  be  sprained  during  a 
game,  or  even  when  walking.  Hunters  constantly 
injure  themselves  suddenly  when  jumping  ;  but  if 
their  hocks  are  well  shaped,  and  they  are  over  the 
period  of  active  trouble,  there  is  no  reason  why 
they  should  not  perform  harness  work  soundly  for 
the  rest  of  their  natural  lives,  although  it  might 
be  wise  not  to  hunt  them  again.  For  example  a 
cob,  as  a  three-year-old,  threw  out  a  curb  on  the 
near  hind  leg,  owing  to  being  ridden  by  a  man  too 
heavy  for  it  at  that  early  age.  Once  the  active 
mischief  ceased,  the  working  ability  of  that  pony 
was  in  no  way  impaired,  and  it  was  still  going 
soundly  and  well  in  its  daily  work  many  years 
later.  If  the  history  of  a  curb  can  be  ascertained, 
and  its  origin  can  be  proved  to  date  back  to  a  time 
when  the  horse  was  either  immature  or  was  being 
hunted,  then  it  would  be  fairly  safe  to  buy  the 


ee  THE  HortsE 

animal  for  harness  work.  A  horse  bought  cheaply 
because  of  some  defect  must,  of  com'se,  always  be 
something  in  the  natm^e  of  a  gamble,  but  in  the 
case  of  the  particular  unsoundness  in  question,  it 
is  safe  to  assert  that  once  the  inflammatory  condi- 
tion is  dead,  and  the  injured  ligaments  have  as- 
sumed their  abnormal  shape  or  position,  the  matter 
is  at  an  end,  and  the  horse  capable  of  ordinary 
work.  The  worst  to  be  feared  is  that  the  horse 
may  periodically  go  lame  in  the  leg  owing  to 
rheumatism  in  the  altered  structure ;  but  this  is  not 
of  common  occurrence,  although  lameness  in  a  leg 
with  a  long-standing  curb,  unaccompanied  by  heat, 
may  perhaps  be  traced  to  something  of  a  rheumatic 
nature. 

Apparently  sound  horses  which  rest  a  hind  leg 
(or  indeed  any  leg)  at  every  opportunity  should 
not  be  purchased.  If  a  horse  is  very  tired  after  a 
day's  hunting  or  a  long  journey  he  often  rests  his 
leg,  but  it  will  then  be  seen  that  he  changes  fre- 
quently from  one  to  the  other,  and  favors  neither. 
He  may  also  legitimateh^,  when  in  his  stable  and 
tired,  point  one  fore  and  the  opposite  hind  foot, 
resting  his  nose  meanwhile  in  the  manger,  in 
which  attitude  he  apparently  goes  to  sleep.  He 
should  not,  however,  habitually  rest  a  certain  leg 


THE  HOESE  67 

whenever  opportunity  occurs,  in  harness  or  other- 
wise, and  if  he  does  so  it  is  a  sm^e  indication  that 
tliere  is  a  sense  of  discomfort,  which  will  probably 
ultimately  manifest  itself. 

The  older  the  damage  the  less  knob-like  and  the 
more  diffuse  and  spread-out  is  a  curb,  so  that  from 
its  shape  alone  it  is  possible  for  the  expert  to  esti- 
mate whether  it  is  of  long  standing. 

It  is  possible,  of  course,  for  a  horse  to  get  a 
swelling  in  the  position  of  a  curb  from  kicking  in 
harness,  or  from  a  blow.  When  a  buyer  is  assured 
that  the  defect  is  due  to  some  such  cause,  it  is 
extremely  difficult  for  him  to  prove  to  his  own 
satisfaction  that  the  injury  is  in  reality  incipient 
curb  ;  at  the  same  time,  the  latter  is  deep-seated, 
and  feels  quite  different  to  the  superficial  swelling 
of  a  bruise. 

Curb  is  an  unsoundness  which  is  as  difficult  to 
hide  from  the  initiated  as  broken  knees,  hence  it 
is  waste  of  time  to  try  and  make  a  cure  which 
leaves  no  telltale  scar.  In  very  bad  cases  the 
prmiitive  method  of  filing  proves  efficacious,  be- 
cause the  burning  of  the  skin  causes  it  to  contract 
and  hence  act  as  a  more  or  less  efficient  brace  to 
the  weakened  part.  In  slight  cases,  when  heat 
and  lameness  are  the  only  indications  that  sona^- 


68  THE  HORSE 

thing  is  "^Tong,  a  blister  composed  of  biniodide  of 
mercury,  one  part ;  lard,  four  parts,  should  be  im- 
mediately well  rubbed  in.  The  horse  must  have 
absolute  rest  and  a  light  diet,  and  should  be  fit 
for  work  again  when  the  effects  of  the  blister 
have  worn  off. 

Spavin 

(See  Fig.  26.)  This  complaint  must  not  be  con- 
fused with  bog  spavin,  to  which  it  is  not  even  re- 
motely allied.  Bone  spavin,  as  we  Avill  call  it  to 
avoid  confusion,  is  extremely  common  in  some 
districts,  and  is  much  more  prevalent  in  some 
breeds  of  horses  than  others.  Actually  it  may  be 
defined  as  a  bony  enlargement  found  on  the  inside 
and  lower  part  of  the  hock,  due  to  disease. 

To  understand  the  exact  nature  of  bone  spavin, 
we  must  return  to  a  study  of  the  horse's  hock. 
As  already  mentioned,  it  is  usually  composed  of  six 
bones,  sometimes  of  seven,  according  to  whether 
certain  of  the  bones  are  naturally  fused  together, 
or  separate,  or  altogether  absent.  As  evolution- 
ists are  well  aware,  the  horse  is  descended  from  a 
five-toed  ancestor,  and  the  two  splint  bones  are 
rudiments  of  tv\^o  additional  toes.  As  evolution- 
ary changes  are  always  much  retarded,  if  not  en- 


THE  HORSE  69 

tirely  suppressed,  under  domestication,  we  find 
that  horses  are  subject  to  a  certain  amount  of 
variation  in  the  number  of  bones  which  go  to 
make  the  hock  joint,  and  these  differences  no 
doubt  have  a  certain  elfect  on  the  capabilities  of 
the  individual  Tlie  tendency  is,  of  course,  for 
the  number  of  bones  to  diminish  in  correspondence 
with  the  loss  of  the  toes  with  which  they  were 
once  articulated,  but  owing  to  reversion  some 
horses  possess  additional  rudimentary  bones  in  the 
hock  which  are  of  no  use,  and  should  not  actually 
be  there.  It  is  probably  this  variation,  and  the 
consequent  instability  of  the  joint,  which  indi- 
rectly causes  horses  to  be  so  predisposed  to  spavin 
and  other  bone  diseases  in  this  region.  It  will  be 
seen,  on  reference  to  the  diagram  of  the  hock,  that 
there  is  normally  on  its  inner  side  a  column  of 
bones  composed  of  the  astra^galus,  large  cuneiform, 
and  median  cuneiform,  which  rest  on  the  meta- 
carpal or  cannon  bone.  Owing  to  jar,  strain,  or 
work,  the  bones  become  inflamed,  usually  between 
the  metatarsal  and  median  cuneiform,  or  between 
this  and  the  large  cuneiform.  Inflammation  of 
bone,  its  covering  membrane,  and  its  articular 
cartilages,  always  leads  to  abnormal  limey  depos- 
its at  the  seat  of  inflammation,  hence  the  result 


YO  THE  HOUSE 

of  disorganization  of  this  region  is  a  bony  enlarge- 
ment, which  is  called  bj  horse-owners  spavm. 

In  the  case  in  question  the  infla^med  bones  are 
ultimately  fused  together  by  the  deposit  which 
results  from  the  inflammation,  so  that  instead  of 
the  front  of  the  hock  being  composed  of  a  column 
of  separate  bones,  each  of  which  plays  compara- 
tively freely  over  the  others  and  feels  smooth  to 
the  touch,  it  becomes  fused  into  a  rough,  unsightly 
mass.  The  seriousness  of  spavin  depends  largely 
upon  the  extent  and  position  of  this  fusion.  If 
only  the  cannon  bone  and  median  cuneiform  are 
involved,  or  even  if  fusion  extends  to  the  large 
cuneiform  also,  the  horse  will  be  unsound,  of 
course,  but  not  necessarily  much  the  worse.  But 
if  fusion  extends  higher  up,  between  the  large 
cuneiform  and  astragalus,  the  horse  will  be  unable 
to  bend  liis  hocks  properly,  and  his  capacity  for 
work  will  be  very  materially  depreciated  thereby. 
Also  the  more  to  the  front  the  fusion  is,  the 
more  serious  it  is.  Therefore  the  seriousness  or 
otherwise  of  spavin  depends  mainly  upon  its  ex- 
tent and  position,  which  are  easily  ascertained  by 
feeling  for  the  rough  bony  deposit  with  the 
fingers,  and  by  noting  the  manner  in  which  the 
horse  bends  his  hocks.     A  horse  which  cannot 


THE  HORSE  71 

back  freely,  in  conjunction  with  other  suspicious 
indications,  is  probably  suffering  from  hock 
trouble. 

As  in  the  case  of  curb,  a  horse  is  usually  only 
lame  from  spavin  when  the  inflammation  is  active, 
and  the  bony  enlargement  actually  in  process  of 
formation.  Unlike  curb,  however,  the  hind  action 
can  never  be  quite  the  same  again,  however  slight 
the  disease,  because  of  the  hindrance  to  the  per- 
fect freedom  of  movement  which  inevitably  takes 
place.  As  already  stated,  the  lower  down  the 
disease,  the  less  is  the  horse's  action  affected ;  thus 
a  lot  of  work  might  be  got  out  of  a  horse  with 
slight  spavin  if  the  inflammation  is  no  longer  act- 
ive. It  must  always  be  remembered  that  spavin 
is  perhaps  a  natural  evolutionary  tendency  toward 
a  union  of  the  bones  of  the  hock,  and  that  a  hock 
which  is  weakly  formed  will  almost  inevitably  be- 
come more  badly  diseased  if  the  animal  has  to 
carry  heavy  weights,  pull  heavy  loads  up  hills,  or 
perform  work  which  will  create  compression  or 
severe  strain  on  this  part.  Therefore  only  a  horse 
which  moves  well  and  soundly,  and  has  well- 
shaped  hocks,  should  be  considered — at  a  price — if 
it  has  a  moribund  spavin  low  down  and  to  one 
side  of  the  leg.     An  animal  in  which  the  action  is 


72  THE  HORSE 

affected,  which  has  a  considerable  development  of 
the  disease,  and  the  shape  of  the  hocks  of  which 
are  not  quite  satisfactory,  should  be  avoided  by 
any  one  who  hopes  to  have  a  horse  capable  of 
doing  regular  work  of  an  exacting  nature. 

The  treatment  of  spavin,  when  a  horse  shows 
by  lameness  and  heat  that  he  is  developing  the 
disease,  consists  in  endeavoring  to  hasten  the  union 
of  the  bony  surfaces.  Unlike  curb,  the  disease 
comes  on  slowly  and  insidiously,  and  may  be 
checked  by  blistering  and  firing,  if  taken  m  time. 
It  must  not  be  expected,  however,  that  a  perfect 
cure,  leaving  no  trace,  can  ever  be  effected.  In 
young  horses  complete  rest — which,  indeed,  is  es- 
sential at  all  ages — and  a  blister,  may  check  the 
evil  before  serious  mischief  is  done,  so  that  noth- 
ing but  a  poor  hind  action  and  some  ridge-like 
marks  across  the  front  of  the  joint,  which  may 
escape  the  notice  of  an  unobservant  person,  will 
be  left  to  tell  the  tale  of  past  trouble. 

Hock  Lameness 

A  horse  may  sometimes  be  suspiciously  stiff  in 

his  hind  action,  may  even  be  lame  in  the  hock, 

and  yet  have  neither  heat  nor  exostosis.     Many 

people  have  been  puzzled  by  cases  of  this  nature, 


THE  HORSE  ^3 

and  have  at  length  been  obliged  to  discard  the 
horse  for  a  lameness  which,  as  there  is  no  outward 
indication  oi  trouble,  it  w^as  impossible  to  cure. 
As  a  horse  should  not  be  bought  if  it  is  actually 
lame,  it  is  unnecessary  to  enter  into  the  details  of 
this  stage  of  the  complaint,  but  the  probable  cause 
of  an  unnaturally  stiff  movement  w^hen  no  spavin 
is  visible  wall  be  of  value  to  the  reader.  As  al- 
ready shown,  the  hock  is  normally  composed  of 
a  number  of  small  bones,  which  are  naturally 
lubricated  by  a  secretion  called  synovia,  which 
enables  them  to  play  freely  over  one  another.  It 
is  possible  for  a  jar  or  severe  strain  to  set  up  in- 
flammation and  ultimate  bony  union  between  the 
inner  edges  of  the  adjacent  bones,  or  actually  be- 
tween the  upper  and  lower  surfaces  of  any  of  the 
superimposed  bones.  Disease  which  is  deep-seated 
like  this  w^ill  obviously  be  undiscoverable  to  eye 
or  hand,  and,  once  the  active  stage  is  past,  nothing 
will  be  left  but  a  stiffness  of  gait,  w^hich  will  be 
apparent  to  any  one  acquainted  with  the  correct 
way  in  which  a  horse  should  move.  It  is  not  safe 
to  trust  to  the  actual  footmarks  made  by  a  horse 
to  decide  whether  he  is  bending  his  hocks  in  the 
way  he  should,  because  some  horses  learn  to 
counteract  the  disability  left  by  liock  disease  by 


74  THE  HOESE 

moving  their  legs  forward  from  the  hip  in  a  rather 
peculiar  way,  and  thus  more  than  cover  with  their 
hind  foot  the  print  left  by  the  front  one.  It  can 
only  be  repeated  that  hocks  which  are  not  bent 
are  often  diseased,  and  that  it  is  possible  for  the 
unsoundness  to  be  in  such  a  position  that  it  is 
absolutely  undiscoverable.  In  these  cases,  a 
veterinary  surgeon  of  course  passes  the  horse  as 
sound,  provided  it  is  not  actually  lame  at  the  time 
he  sees  it. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  whether  horses  with 
occult  spavin,  as  it  has  been  called,  should*  be 
purchased  or  refused.  Much  depends  upon  the 
actual  case ;  but  it  is  strongly  recommended  that 
where  this  disease  is  suspected,  a  few  days'  trial 
prior  to  purchase  should  be  absolutely  insisted 
upon  as  a  preliminary  condition.  If  this  is  not 
allowed,  refuse  the  horse  at  any  price.  In  an  ob- 
scure complaint  of  this  nature,  with  no  surface 
indication,  it  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  tell 
whether  the  disease  is  active  or  is  of  long  stand- 
ing, and  it  is  upon  the  elucidation  of  this  point 
that  the  advisabilit}"  of  purchase  depends.  If  the 
hock  is  slightly  inliamed,  a  hard  day's  work  will 
result  in  lameness  next  day ;  if  the  inflammatory 
stage  is  long  since  past,  the  horse  will  be  but  little 


THE  HORSE  75 

stiffer  in  his  gait  after  work  than  he  was  before. 
Therefore  it  is  essential  that  he  be  under  the  en- 
tire control,  and  in  the  stable,  of  the  would-be 
purchaser  for  at  least  a  couple  of  days,  so  that  he 
can  be  submitted  to  a  thorough  test,  and  so  that 
his  habits,  i.  e.,  predisposition  to  rest  the  leg  at  or 
after  work,  etc.,  can  be  observed.  If  he  comes 
out  of  the  ordeal  none  the  worse,  then  he  is  prob- 
ably worth  buying  at  a  price  commensurate  ^"ith 
his  poor  hind  action.  It  should  be  added  that  a 
thirty-mile  drive  will  fairly  test  a  horse  for  most 
of  the  common  unsoundnesses  of  the  legs. 

Another  Mysterious  Complaint 
"When  a  very  taking  horse  is  offered  to  one  at  a 
very  reasonable  price,  the  natural  conclusion  to 
come  to  is  that  something  is  wrong  with  it.  If, 
on  examination,  it  proves  to  be  free  from  splints, 
spavins,  curbs,  wind-trouble,  and  all  the  common 
and  obvious  unsoundnesses,  one  is  rather  at  a  loss 
to  discover  what  is  the  matter.  A  case  of  this 
sort  came  to  notice  not  long  ago.  The  pony  was 
a  model.  It  w^as  apparently  sound,  quiet,  and 
desirable  in  every  respect,  and  yet  the  prospective 
purchaser  was  convinced  that  all  w^as  not  right 
with  it.     The  owner  was  persuaded  to  leave  it  on 


76  THE  HORSE 

trial,  payment  of  a  definite  sum  for  hire  to  be 
made  if  it  was  not  ultimately  purchased.  Driving 
revealed  the  fact  that  the  pony  had  a  tendency  to 
"  drop  "  one  hind  leg  occasionally  in  the  course  of 
a  drive.  ISTot  only  this,  but  it  rested  the  leg  much 
in  the  stable,  and,  furthermore,  evinced  a  tendency 
to  shivering  in  that  thigh.  Eventually  it  was 
found  possible  to  cause  slight  pain  by  pressure  on 
a  certain  part  of  the  thigh,  and  the  ultimate  con- 
clusion come  to  was  that  the  pony  was  suffering 
from  some  disorder  which  affected  the  sciatic 
nerve.  A  sudden  twinge  of  pain,  which  it  ap- 
parently felt  occasionally,  no  doubt  caused  the 
sudden  drop  of  the  leg,  which  was  dangerous,  as 
it  always  occurred  going  down-hill. 

The  above  incident  is  submitted,  partly  to  show 
how  difficult  it  may  be  to  detect  certain  classes  of 
disease,  and  also  to  emphasize  the  great  benefit 
of  always  having  a  horse  in  one's  own  stable  for 
at  least  a  day  or  two  before  buying  it.  If  a  seller 
strongly  objects  to  allow  a  trial  to  a  responsible 
person,  his  prejudices  may  be  overcome  by  the 
offer  of  the  papnent  of  a  reasonable  sum,  per 
week,  if  no  sale  takes  place.  If  he  refuses  any 
such  arrangement,  the  buyer  has  probably  not  lost 
an  animal  which  it  was  worth  his  while  to  buy. 


THE  HORSE  Y7 

Synovial  Enlargements 
(See  Fig.  26.)  Horses  may  have  a  variety  of 
more  or  less  soft  enlargements  in  the  region  of 
the  hock  or  hoof,  due  to  an  effusion  of  the  joint 
oil  or  synovia.  Xormally  the  fluid  is  kept  in  its 
place  by  taut  membranes ;  but  sometimes  owing 
to  overwork  when  young,  however,  or  to  actual 
weakness  of  the  binding  tissue,  the  synovial  sacs 
may  bulge  out  in  certain  places  where  they  are 
unsupported  by  ligaments,  and  cause  wind-galls 
(these  more  commonly  on  the  fetlocks  than  on  the 
hocks),  bog  spavin,  or  thoroughpin.  This  class  of 
derangement  does  not  usually  cause  lameness  or 
incapacitate  a  horse  from  work ;  it  is  merely  un- 
sightly. Therefore  a  mature  horse,  with  a  soft, 
cool  swelling  which  is  situated  on  the  inner  front 
of  the  hock,  need  not  be  refused  on  this  score. 
Bad  bog  spavin  is  often  accompanied  by  thorough- 
pin,  which  is  a  similar  distention  situated  just 
above  the  point  of  the  hock  and  in  front  of  the 
tendon. 

Capped  Hocks 
(See  Fig.  26.)    Capped  hocks  are  common  and 
unsightly,  and  lower  the  value  of  a  horse ;  but 
they  are  of  no  disadvantage  from  a  practical  point 


TB  THE  HORSE 

of  view.  Actually  they  are  caused  by  an  abnor- 
mal accumulation  of  watery  matter,  accumulated 
in  a  sac  formed  between  the  tendon  attached  to 
the  point  of  the  hock  and  the  skin.  They  are 
usually  due  to  blows  either  accidentally  inflicted 
or  caused  by  the  kicking  of  the  horse,  and  it  is  al- 
ways advisable  to  take  special  trouble  to  ascertain 
whether  an  animal  with  this  disfigurement  is  an 
habitual  kicker  in  harness.  Badly  bred  horses 
sometimes  become  the  victims  of  a  mange  insect 
which  particularly  favors  the  hind  legs,  and  causes 
the  horse  to  stamp  and  fret  ceaselessly  in  his 
stable,  especially  during  the  night,  and  during  the 
autumn  and  winter.  In  his  distress,  he  is  ex- 
tremely likely  to  damage  the  point  of  his  hock 
against  the  stall  di\asion  or  wall.  The  ob\dous 
remedy  lies  in  exterminating  the  parasites,  which 
is  easily  done  by  washing  the  legs  with  soft  soap 
and  water,  and  applying  a  few  dressings  of  equal 
parts  of  paraffin  oil  and  sweet  oil.  When  a  horse 
rubs  one  hind  leg  against  the  other,  stamps  and 
kicks  out,  and  shows  every  indication  of  extreme 
irritation  at  the  back  of  the  legs  between  heel  and 
hock,  as  well  as  a  scaly  dry  eruption,  this  para- 
site should  be  suspected,  as  it  is  much  commoner 
than  many  people  might  suppose. 


THE  HORSE 


79 


It  is  possible  that  an  insufficient  supply  of  bed- 
ding may  sometimes  lead  indirectly  to  capped 
hocks,  especially  if  an  ani- 
mal is  startled  into  rising 
hurriedly  when  lying  down. 

Splints 

(See  Fig.  27.)  To  turn  to 
the  fore  legs,  Ave  will  deal 
first  with  the  nature  and 
cause  of  splint,  which  is 
possibly  the  commonest  ab- 
normal structure  to  be  found 
on  a  horse's  legs,  but  which 
only  under  certain  circum- 
stances, to  be  exactly  deter- 
mined hereafter,  constitutes 
an  unsoundness. 

The  splint  bones  are  two 
rudimentary,  or  rather  ves- 
tigiar}^,  cannon    bones  situ-  Fig.  27.— Diagram  of  the 
ated  on  either  side  of  the      geg!'  ^'"^  °'  ^"  ^°™ 

cannon  bone  proper,  on  both    l,  cannon  bone;  2,  splintbone; 
J,  1     1  •      1     1  rm  3,    its    button-like  termination; 

tore  and  hmd  leg's.     Iney  4,  position  of  spiiuts;  5,  sus- 

~  '^      peiisory    ligament;    6,    seat    of 

are  of  interest,  as   already  side-bones. 

hinted,  as  affording  evidence  that  the  horse  is  de- 


80  THE  HORSE 

scended  from  a  live-toed  ancestor.  They  represent 
the  second  and  fourth  digits,  the  horse  walking 
upon  the  third.  The  first  and  fifth  digits,  corre- 
sponding to  our  thumb  and  little  finger,  have  long 
ago  disappeared.  The  heads  of  the  sphnt  bones 
articulate  with  some  of  the  bones  in  the  lower 
row  of  the  knee  and  hock,  hence  a  total  loss  of 
the  former  would  involve  considerable  alteration 
in  both  knee  and  hock,  which  state  of  evolution 
has  not  yet  been  reached.  Therefore  our  horses 
still  continue  to  possess  the  useless  and  even  det- 
rimental rudimentary  splint  bones,  as  they  are 
called,  which  sometimes  cause  him  considerable 
pain,  and  may  in  certain  circumstances  depreciate 
his  value. 

Xormal  splint  bones  usually  have  small  button- 
like terminations  which  are  the  only  vestige  left  of 
the  moribund  digits,  and  may  be  felt  through  the 
skin.  These  little  bulbs  are  likely  to  be  mistaken  by 
the  uninitiated  for  splints,  especially  in  breeds  such 
as  Iceland  ponies,  in  which  they  are  unusually  well 
developed. 

The  rudimentary  metacarpals  and  metatarsals 
are  attached  to  the  cannon  bone  by  strong  inter- 
osseous ligaments,  which  have  a  tendency  to  be 
naturally    converted  into   bone   with   advancing 


THE  HORSE  81 

years.  The  disease  called  splint  is  an  abnormal 
deposit  of  bone  between  the  splint  bone  and  the 
cannon  bone,  caused  probably  most  frequently  by 
sprain  of  the  interosseous  ligament  and  subsequent 
inflammation.  The  inflammation  may,  however, 
be  set  up  in  other  ways.  The  jar  of  trotting 
along  a  hard  road,  a  blow,  or  indeed  any  violent 
shock  to  the  leg  of  a  young  horse  may  be  sufii- 
cient  to  cause  it,  and  the  fact  that  it  is  so  much 
commoner  to  find  a  splint  on  the  fore  than  on 
the  hind  legs  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  latter  are 
far  less  subject  to  concussion  than  the  former. 

Splints  seem  to  occur  more  frequently  on  the 
inside  rather  than  the  outside  of  the  leg,  and  are 
always  higher  up  than  the  bulbous  termination, 
with  which,  therefore,  they  need  never  be  con- 
founded. Presumably,  during  the  natural  course 
of  evolution,  the  tendency  is  for  the  splint  bones 
to  become  shorter  and  permanently  welded  to  the 
cannon  bones  at  an  early  age.  Until  this  desirable 
result  is  consummated  in  all  horses,  however, 
splints  will  continue  to  be  a  prevalent  source  of 
trouble. 

Splints  are  serious  or  not,  as  mentioned  in  the 
first  chapter,  according  to  their  position,  their 
number,  size,  and  activity,  and  the  class  of  work 


82  THE  HORSE 

expected  of  a  horse.  They  are  easily  felt  as  bony 
exostoses  at  some  position  along  the  course  of  the 
splint  bones.  If  a  horse  has  them  on  both  sides 
of  each  fore  leg,  it  should  be  at  once  rejected  as 
too  weak  to  be  of  use  for  hard  work.  More  com- 
monly only  one  splint  on  the  inner  side  of  one 
fore  leg  will  be  felt,  and  in  such  a  case  the  impor- 
tant point  to  consider  is  its  position  in  relation  to 
the  passage  of  the  adjacent  tendon. 

Normally,  the  back  of  the  cannon  bone  and  the 
two  splint  bones  form  a  groove  for  the  suspensory 
ligament.  If  a  splint  forms  on  the  inner  side  of 
the  splint  bone,  the  exostosis  may  press  on  the 
ligament,  and  the  consequent  pain  will  cause  a 
chronic  lameness.  Again,  a  splint  weU  forward 
and  high  up  on  the  outside  of  the  fore  leg  is  apt  to 
interfere  with  the  extensor  tendon.  Some  old 
carriage  horses  become  chronically  lame  owing  to 
the  "  growth  "  of  a  splint  which  eventually  be- 
comes so  large  as  to  press  on  the  suspensory  liga- 
ment, although  for  the  greater  part  of  life  it  had 
given  them  no  trouble.  Therefore  the  position  is 
the  chief  factor  to  take  into  consideration  when 
estimating  the  gi'avity  of  this  disease. 

Owing  to  the  fragile  connection  in  youth  be- 
tween the  metacarpal  and  splint  bones,  young 


THE  HORSE  83 

horses,  under  five  years  of  age,  are  most  liable  to 
this  complaint — indeed,  comparatively  few  three- 
year-olds  escape  a  slight  inflammation  during  their 
period  of  training.  The  lameness  soon  passes  off, 
however,  and  rest  and  a  mild  blister  will  com- 
plete the  cure  by  hastening  a  bony  union  at  the 
injured  spot.  On  the  other  hand,  splints  often 
become  absorbed  in  old  animals  which  are  enjoy- 
ing a  period  of  rest,  and  it  is  by  no  means  uncom- 
mon to  find  that  they  have  diminished  or  even  dis- 
appeared vdth  the  increasing  years  of  their  owner. 
As  splints  do  not  constitute  unsoundness  unless 
they  are  actually  causing  lameness,  and  as  lame- 
ness is  (except  in  those  instances  in  w^hich  the 
splint,  owing  to  its  position,  causes  the  horse  to  be 
chronically  lame)  only  evidenced  when  the  splint 
is  forming,  it  is  safe  to  buy  a  horse  with  even  a 
rather  large  spKnt  on  one  fore  leg  if  the  growth  is 
moribund  and  not  unfavorably  situated.  In  the 
majority  of  cases,  as  already  mentioned,  the  growth 
will  diminish  with  age,  and  it  is  in  no  way  likely 
to  interfere  with  the  working  capabilities  of  a  horse. 

Side-bones 
(See  Fig.  27.)     Cartilage  is  extremely  liable  to 
ossify  if  injured.     The  disease  called  side-bones  is 


84  THE  HORSE 

the  ossification  of  the  natui'ally  elastic  lateral 
cartilages  attached  to  the  pedal  bone,  and  is  easily 
felt  as  a  hard,  rough  lump,  which  may  vary  from 
the  size  of  a  pea  upward.  Usually  only  the  fore 
feet  are  affected,  and  cart  horses  rather  than  light 
horses  are  liable  to  the  complaint.  Tliis  is  prob- 
ably due  to  the  fact  that  the  disease  is  almost  al- 
ways brought  on  by  external  injury,  and  that  farm 
horses  harnessed  abreast  are  extremely  liable  to 
tread  on  one  another's  feet  when  tm^ning  in 
ploughing,  etc.  That  the  disease  is  usually  con- 
tracted in  this  way  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  it  is 
almost  always  an  outside  cartilage  which  is  af- 
fected. In  cart  horses,  not  much  is  thought  of  the 
disease,  as  animals  with  it  can  perform  a  great 
amount  of  work  on  soft  ground  at  a  walking  pace. 
It  is  a  grave  unsoundness,  however,  in  light  horses, 
one,  moreover,  which  may  increase  as  time  goes 
on,  and  no  horse  should  be  purchased  for  trotting 
road  work  which  has  a  suspicion  of  the  disease. 
The  pain  of  side-bone  is  caused  by  the  nipping  or 
pressure,  as  it  were,  of  soft  tissues  between  the  ab- 
normal deposit  of  bone  and  the  hoof,  and  this  is 
obviously  likely  to  increase  as  the  disease  extends, 
and  to  be  worse  after  severe  work  on  hard  roads. 
Cart  horses  with  side-bones  will  often  be  lame  for 


THE  HORSE  85 

a  day  or  two  after  one  twenty-mile  journey  on  the 
road,  although  they  will  be  able  to  work  regularly 
on  the  land  day  after  day  without  discomfort. 

It  is  sometimes  difficult  to  detect  side-bone  in 
its  very  early  stages,  as  the  horse  may  not  be  per- 
manently lame,  but  may  onl}^  ''  drop  "  a  little  once 
or  twice  when  first  moved  after  a  rest.  As  al- 
ready stated,  the  place  to  search  for  incipient  dis- 
ease is  on  the  outsides  of  the  fore  feet,  and  if  the 
cartilages  seem  to  have  in  the  slightest  degree  lost 
their  natural  elasticity  and  smoothness,  the  horse 
should  be  refused.  The  ossification  usually  begins 
as  a  small  spot  on  some  part  of  the  cartilage,  and 
from  thence  spreads  in  every  direction  until  the 
enthe  cartilage  is  changed  into  a  rough,  bony 
mass,  lacking  the  smoothness  and  sharp  definition 
of  true  bone. 

In  bringing  these  remarks  on  a  few  of  the  com- 
mon diseases  of  the  legs  to  a  close,  it  must  be 
added  that  they  are  intended  rather  as  a  guide  to 
the  buyer  than  as  a  treatise  from  the  veterinary 
point  of  view. 

Almost  every  horse  which  is  offered  at  an  ap- 
parently fair,  as  opposed  to  a  fancy  price,  ''  has 
something."  The  question  usually  is,  Will  that 
"  somethiDg "  invalid  him  if  he  is  -put  to  certain 


86  THE  HORSE 

regular  work,  or  is  he  likely  to  turn  out  "  practi- 
cally sound  "  ?  This  question  we  have  endeavored 
to  answer  in  detail  under  the  various  headings: 
broadly  it  may  be  stated,  however,  that  hock 
troubles  are  likely  to  be  increased  by  hunting  or 
heavy  draught  work,  although  there  are  no  doubt 
men  who  get  all  the  sport  they  require  out  of  a 
horse  filled  in  both  hocks;  and  that  side-bones, 
splints  in  certain  positions,  and  any  feet  troubles 
must  be  viewed  with  the  greatest  suspicion  in 
horses  which  have  to  work  at  a  fast  pace  upon  the 
roads. 


CHAPTEE  lY 

Stables  and  Appliances 

The  average  individual  has,  as  a  rule,  to  make 
use  of  such  stabling  as  he  finds  himself  possessed 
of,  and  it  must  be  confessed  that  very  often  the 
accommodation  at  his  command  falls  very  far 
short  of  the  ideal.  A  number  of  inexpensive 
modifications  can,  however,  generally  be  made, 
which  will  add  not  only  to  the  comfort,  but  to  the 
general  welfare  of  the  inhabitants.  It  must  be  re- 
membered that  a  horse  spends  the  greater  part  of 
his  working  life  in  the  stable,  and  that,  under  these 
circumstances,  his  health  can  only  be  secured  by 
due  attention  to  the  sanitary  conditions  under 
which  he  lives. 

Cubical  Space 

It  is  usually  said  that  1,200  cubic  feet  is  the 

minimum  space  required  by  each  horse  in  a  stable 

for  the  maintenance  of  health.     As,  however,  the 

average  London  cab  and  carriage  horse  stables 

87 


88  THE  HORSE 

generally  allow  only  about  half,  or  less  than  half, 
this  number,  it  is  apparently  possible  for  horses  to 
live  and  be  capable  of  work  in  a  very  much  more 
restricted  area.  It  must  be  added  that  horses 
whose  work  takes  them  for  long  hours  out-of- 
doors  will  be  healthier,  and  will  be  able  to  live 
under  less  favorable  conditions  when  under  cover, 
than  those  who  only  escape  from  the  vicinity 
of  four  walls  for  one  or  two  hom\s  out  of  the 
twenty -four.  Farm  horses  who  do  their  regular 
eight  to  ten  homes'  work  daily  can  live  healthily 
in  stables  which  would  be  utterly  condemned  for 
the  housing  of  light  horses ;  but  the  factor  which 
makes  it  possible  is  not  any  inherent  hardiness 
of  the  heavier  breeds,  but  merely  theu^  mode  of 
life. 

It  is  presumed  that  the  horse-owner  is  giving 
his  animals  the  greatest  amount  of  cubic  space 
that  his  building  permits  of.  To  aid  in  this  de- 
sirable end,  the  empty  staU  or  stalls  should  not  be 
littered  up  with  odds  and  ends,  and  allowed  to 
become  untidy,  du^ty  receptacles  for  the  deposit 
of  rubbish.  Every  empty  stall  in  a  small  stable 
means  more  air  for  the  occupants  of  other  stalls, 
and  no  detail  of  this  kind  is  too  insignificant  to  be 
overlooked. 


THE  HORSE  89 

Ventilation 

The  next  point  to  which  attention  must  be  paid 
is  to  the  very  important  one  of  ventilation.  The 
correct  method  of  securing  the  ingress  of  outside 
air  without  causing  inconvenient  draught  is  by  a 
series  of  windows  placed  on  both  sides  along  the 
length  of  the  stable  above  the  head  of  each  horse. 
If  there  is  a  double  row  of  stalls  with  passage 
down  the  centre  and  a  door  at  each  end  of  the 
building,  fresh  air  will  gain  entrance  at  right 
angles  to  that  admitted  by  the  windows,  so  that 
no  part  of  the  stall  is  unduly  favored,  and  none 
of  the  horses  are  placed  in  a  position  of  advantage. 
Below  the  manger,  and  about  a  foot  from  the 
floor,  a  row  of  air-bricks  ensures  that  the  air  near 
the  floor  does  not  become  stagnant. 

The  commonest  form  of  stable  usually  found  is 
that  in  which  the  door  and  window  are  in  the 
centre  of  the  front  wall,  the  row  of  stalls  being 
placed  immediately  opposite.  The  great  disad- 
vantage of  this  plan  is  that  there  is  no  through 
draught  or  free  circulation  of  air,  and  such  air  as 
is  admitted  is  on  the  side  farthest  from  the  horses' 
nostrils.  It  may  be  possible,  if  the  building 
stands  alone,  to  have  a  ventilator  placed  in  the 
wall  at  each  end  of  the  stable  high  up,  at  smaU 


90  THE  HORSE 

expense  corajDared  to  the  advantage  gained. 
Some  old-fashioned  stables  are  provided  with  hay- 
racks communicating  with  the  loft  above,  and 
open  to  objections  as  these  racks  are,  they  may 
yet  be  desii-able  in  an  otherwise  ill-ventilated 
stable,  as  they  allow  a  current  of  comparatively 
fresh  air  to  reach  each  horse. 

Another  plan  of  stabling,  which  perhaps  is  the 
worst  of  all,  is  that  in  which  the  door  and  window 
are  at  one  end  of  the  building  and  the  stalls  stretch 
away  from  them.  The  horse  nearest  the  window 
may  get  some  fresh  air  and  light ;  but  those  at 
the  farthest  end  of  the  building  have  to  breathe 
the  atmosphere  tainted  by  the  breath  of  the  horses 
nearer  the  window,  the  mischief  increasing  with 
each  succeeding  horse. 

Possibly  one  of  the  healthiest  forms  of  stabling 
for  not  too  artificially  kept  horses  is  a  shed  en- 
tirely open  at  one  side.  The  roof  should,  of 
course,  jut  out  to  cover  a  six  feet  passage  behind 
the  horses'  heels,  both  for  convenience  of  the  men 
in  attendance  and  to  prevent  driving  rain  from 
reaching  the  horses.  Horses  kept  in  shedding 
on  these  lines  have  done  remarkably  well,  and 
have  been  wonderfully  free  from  the  minor  ail- 
ments which  so  constantly  incapacitate  those  in 


THE  HORSE  91 

the  ordinary  stable.  It  must  always  be  remem- 
bered that  horses  are  constituted  to  live  an  outdoor 
life,  and  that  they  can,  as  a  rule,  stand  any  amount 
of  dry  cold.  By  reason  of  their  great  lung  capac- 
ity they  must  have  plenty  of  fresh  air,  and  con- 
sequently they  will  thiive  better  under  a  rough 
shedding  which  is  exposed  to  the  air,  than  in  the 
average  small,  dark,  warm,  ill-ventilated  stable. 
There  is  only  one  drawback  (if  such  it  can  be 
called)  to  a  shed-stable,  and  that  is  that  the  horses 
kept  therein  must  not  be  clipped.  As  the  trades- 
man and  small  owner,  whose  horses  have  to  stand 
about  in  all  weathers,  would  probably  in  any  case 
dispense  with  clipping,  the  drawback  is  not  a  very 
serious  one.  Hov\^ever,  as  we  before  remarked, 
every  owner  will  usually  have  to  make  the  best 
of  what  he  has  got,  and  we  would  only  impress 
on  him  the  great  importance,  to  the  welfare  of  his 
animals,  of  a  free  circulation  of  fresh  air,  which 
must  be  secured  in  the  manner  best  suited  to  his 
circumstances  and  situation. 

Stall  Diyisio>7s 
The  usual  stall  division  is  a  partition  perhaps 
seven  feet  high  at  the  point  of  attachment  to  the 
wall  and  sloping  to  about  five  feet  high.     Since 


92  THE  HORSE 

the  importance  of  ventilation  has  been  more  fully 
realized,  the  wooden  partition  has  been  modified 
to  a  height  not  exceeding  four  feet,  and  the  two 
feet  above  are  composed  of  iron  bars,  which  allow 
of  a  free  circulation  of  air  passing  right  through 
the  stable  on  a  level  with  the  horses'  heads.  This 
arrangement  is  excellent  in  theory,  and  no  doubt 
practically  satisfactory  in  stalls ;  but  we  have 
known  a  spirited  horse  in  a  loose  box,  divided  from 
the  next  by  partition  and  bars,  to  get  its  fore  legs 
above  the  bars  in  its  endeavors  to  reach  the  next 
horse,  and  to  prevent  a  repetition  of  this  dangerous 
proceeding  the  bars  had  to  be  covered  over  with 
wood  to  obstruct  the  view.  AVe  should  certainly  rec- 
ommend the  barred  tops  for  stalls,  but  not  for  the 
di^^isions  between  loose  boxes,  and  it  is  unnecessary 
in  the  latter,  where  the  horse  can  turn  round  in 
any  direction  it  pleases.  Even  in  stalls  the  bars 
immediately  over  the  mangers  are  better  covered 
with  wood,  as  a  bad-tempered,  jealous  horse  will 
often  cause  terror  to  his  neighbors  at  feeding 
time,  and  will  frighten  them  into  leaving  or 
''gobbhng  "  their  food  if  within  view. 

The  usual  width  recommended  for  stalls  for  full- 
sized  horses  is  six  feet  and  the  length  ten  feet, 
but  in  most  stables  thev  fall  far  short  of  this; 


THE  HORSE  93 

curiously  enough,  too,  most  commonly  in  cart-horse 
stables.  An  excellent  plan,  much  in  vogue  in 
France,  and  certainly  to  be  recommended  for  hard- 
working horses  where  room  is  limited,  is  to  have 
partitions  made  of  wide  bales,  hung  by  two  chains 
from  a  small  manger-partition  to  a  heel  post,  the 
top  being  about  three  feet  above  the  stable  floor. 
Besides  economizing  floor  space,  these  swinging 
bales  give  the  horse  much  more  room,  and  allow 
of  a  free  circulation  of  au'  and  a  thorough  cleaning 
of  the  floor.  Of  course  the  objection  to  them  lies 
in  the  danger  of  a  restive  animal  getting  a  leg 
over  the  bale.  This  danger  is  not  a  very  real  one 
in  the  case  of  regularly  worked  animals,  however, 
and  the  plan  seems  to  have  answered  very  well  in 
the  cases  in  which  it  has  been  adopted.  A  width 
of  ^ye  feet  will  be  suflicient  for  stalls  divided  by 
bales,  although  another  foot  is  of  course  preferable 
if  it  can  be  afforded ;  and  each  bale  should  be  so 
fixed  as  to  be  easily  unhooked  if  necessary. 

Drainage 
Surface  drains  are  always  the  best  for  stables, 
as  undergi'ound  drains  are  liable  to  get  choked 
with  straw  and  refuse  matter.     The  most  objection- 
able class  of  drain  is  the  trap  gutter  in  the  centre 


94  THE  HORSE 

of  the  floor  of  each  stall,  as,  unless  constantly 
flushed  with  clean  water,  which  it  seldom  is,  it  is 
little  better  than  a  small  cesspool  almost  under 
the  nose  of  the  horse.  An  open  gutter  running 
the  length  of  the  stable,  at  the  back  of  the  stalls, 
with  a  good  outfall,  is  sanitary  if  unsightly.  The 
slope  of  the  back  part  of  the  stalls  to  this  gutter 
will  require  to  be  about  one  in  eight}^ ;  no  greater 
slope  than  is  absolutely  necessary  for  drainage 
pui^poses  should  be  allowed,  as  it  is  not  only  un- 
comfortable, but  absolutely  injurious  to  a  horse  to 
stand  for  a  prolonged  period  with  his  legs  at 
different  levels. 

Floors 
The  material  for  the  floor  of  a  stable  must  be 
sanitary,  durable,  easily  cleaned,  and  not  slippery. 
A  variety  of  gTooved,  so-called  sanitary  bricks  are 
made  in  these  days,  and  no  doubt  some  of  them 
answer  very  well.  A  concrete  floor  also  answers 
the  requirements,  and  has  the  extra  advantage  of 
being  one  of  the  cheapest  adequate  floors  that  can 
be  laid.  A  very  rough  estimate  of  the  cost  of 
laying  concrete  twelve  inches  deep  would  be  about 
one  dollar  per  square  3^ard,  including  ramming, 
and  to  this  must  be  added  a  small  sum  for  render- 
ing the  surface  with  cement. 


THE  HORSE  95 

Light 

There  still  lingers  an  old-fashioned  prejudice 
against  admitting  light  into  a  stable.  It  is  said 
that  light  attracts  flies  which  worry  the  horses. 
As  a  nation  Ave  are  only  just  beginning  to 
realize  the  importance  of  air  and  light  to  our 
own  healths,  so  perhaps  it  is  hardly  surprising  that 
these  old  prejudices  should  linger  in  connection 
with  the  management  of  our  horses.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  flies  are  attracted  by  the  manure  rather 
than  by  the  horses,  and  they  will  not  swarm  in  a 
stable  which  is  light,  and  consequently  clean. 
Light,  particularly  sunhght,  is  essential  to  the 
maintenance  of  health  as  being  the  only  natural 
germicide  we  know  of,  and  as  disease  is  usually 
the  result  of  bacteriological  action,  the  importance 
of  allowing  sunlight  to  penetrate  the  dwellings  of 
man  and  beast  can  be  fully  realized.  Also  light 
is  essential  to  the  health  of  the  eyes.  For  these 
reasons,  and  for  the  additional  one  that  dark 
stables  are  usually  dirty  stables,  as  much  light 
should  be  admitted  as  possible.  However  ill- 
constructed  a  stable  may  be,  much  may  be  done 
toward  keeping  the  inmates  in  good  health  by 
keeping  the  doors  and  windows  open  as  much  as 
possible  to  admit  both  light  and  air.     Only  too 


96  THE  HORSE 

often  everything  is  shut  up  at  night,  and  the  heat 
and  foul  air  which  meet  one  when  the  door  is 
opened  in  the  morning  is  eloquent  testimony  to 
the  need  for  more  thorough  ventilation.  The 
windows  can  at  least  be  left  open  all  night,  and 
bars  or  stout  wire  netting  can  be  fixed  across  the 
opening  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  undesirable  in- 
truders. 

Maistgers 

The  modern  manger  is  usually  made  of  iron, 
and  although  preferable,  from  the  point  of  view 
of  cleanliness,  to  the  old  wooden  manger,  it  is  very 
often  made  much  too  small  and  shallow.  A  pro- 
jectmg  lip  on  the  inside  certainly,  to  some  extent, 
prevents  the  food  from  spilling  ;  but,  as  a  rule,  the 
manger  is  much  too  small  to  hold  a  big  feed  of 
cut  hay  and  oats  without  waste.  Almost  every 
horse  noses  a  mixed  feed  about,  and  unless  he  has 
plenty  of  room  a  certain  amount  is  bound  to  get 
spilt.  A  most  satisfactory  manger  is  in  reality 
intended  to  hold  the  hay,  and  is  deep  and  low, 
and  the  horse  can  root  about  m  it  to  his  heart's 
content  without  losing  a  morsel  of  his  food. 

The  usual  method  of  attachment  of  a  horse  to 
the  stall  is  by  a  rope  fastened  to  the  head-stall, 


THE  HORSE  ^7 

which  runs  throiigli  a  ring  in  the  centre  of  the 
edge  of  the  manger,  and  is  weighted  by  a  block 
of  wood  on  the  end  of  the  rope.  The  latter  should 
fasten  to  the  head-stall  with  a  spring  hook. 

Hay-Racks 

Many  people  object  to  the  overhead  hay-rack, 
because  they  consider  this  position  for  the  food 
unnatural,  and  also  because  it  allows  of  the  possi- 
bility of  seeds,  dust,  etc.,  getting  into  the  horse's 
eyes.  Against  a  low  rack  is  urged  the  danger  that 
the  horse  may  injure  himself  by  getting  his  foot 
into  it.  There  is  certainly  much  to  be  said  in 
favor  of  the  overhead  rack  on  the  score  of  waste, 
as  it  is  undoubtedly  an  advantage  to  have  the 
manger  beneath  to  catch  bits  pulled  out  by  the 
horse.  The  waste  with  an  open-barred  low  rack 
is  very  considerable,  and  if  racks  in  this  position 
are  used,  it  is  much  better  to  have  them  boarded 
up. 

General  Remarks 

From  the  few  remarks  made  on  the  most  im- 
portant points  in  connection  with  stable  construc- 
tion, it  will  be  seen  that  every  owner  can,  as  a 
rule,  do  something  to  remed}^  defects  in  the  build- 
ing at  his  disposal.     The  point  of  greatest  impor- 


98  THE  HORSE 

tance,  we  must  repeat,  is  ventilation,  and  it  is 
always  possible  to  keep  windows  open,  and,  if 
necessary,  substitute  a  door  in  two  parts  for  the 
ordinary  door.  Furthermore,  ventilators  can  be 
added  at  very  small  cost,  if  the  stable  stands  in 
such  position  as  to  allow  of  holes  being  made 
through  the  end  walls.  If  the  drainage  of  a 
stable  is  defective  or  unsanitary,  it  is  better  to  stop 
it  up  and  use  none,  than  to  have  the  horses  stand- 
ing for  the  greater  part  of  their  lives  over  minia- 
ture cesspools.  If  the  stalls  are  carefully  and 
thoroughly  cleaned  out  daily,  there  is  no  actual 
need  for  a  system  of  drainage,  and  horses  can  live 
healthily  on  bedding  of  sawdust  or  shapings — in 
fact  some  people,  to  whom  expense  is  no  object, 
use  one  of  these  materials  in  preference  to  straw. 
Box  stalls  are  preferable  to  ordinary  stalls  in  more 
ways  than  one,  but  are,  of  course,  impossible  where 
space  is  limited.  The  ability  of  the  horse  to  turn 
about  and  stand  in  any  direction,  of  which  he  al- 
ways avails  himself,  is  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the 
animal.  He  can  get  out  of  draughts ;  he  can 
place  himself  in  a  position  to  attain  the  greatest 
amount  of  fresh  air ;  and  the  power  to  move  about, 
instead  of  being  constrained  to  stand  in  one  po- 
sition, enables  him  to  obtain  thorough  rest  when 


THE  HORSE  99 

fatigued.  A  horse  which  has  the  freedom  of  a 
loose  box  never  stands  in  the  position  in  which  he 
would  normally  be  tied,  and  presumably  he  chooses 
the  position  which  is  of  greatest  comfort  to  him- 
self. It  is  always  possible  to  improvise  a  box  stall 
or  two  at  small  expense.  Two  movable  bars 
placed  across  the  end  of  a  six  foot  stall  will  make 
a  good  loose  box  for  any  pony  up  to  14.2  hands, 
and  is,  in  om^  experience,  exempt  from  any  serious 
objections.  The  end  stalls  in  a  stable  can  be 
turned  into  box  stalls  by  putting  a  couple  of  bars 
from  the  stall  partition  to  the  opposite  wall,  thus 
adding  the  width  of  the  passage  to  the  length  of 
the  stall.  This  method  is  open  to  the  objection 
that  the  loose  horse  can,  if  it  so  desires,  reach  its 
neighbor  in  the  next  stall,  and  the  ability  to  do  so 
may  lead  to  a  tooth  and  heel  battle,  with  unpleas- 
ant consequences.  Grooms  always  object  to  box 
stalls,  and  will  keep  the  horses  tied  up  in  them  if 
not  sharply  looked  after.  Their  opposition  is  due 
to  the  slight  amount  of  extra  work  entailed ;  and 
the  only  real  objection  ever  experienced  is  that 
theu^  use  adds  slightly  to  the  straw  bill,  which  ad- 
ditional expense  is  more  than  compensated  for 
by  the  increased  health  and  energy  of  the  horses 
kept  in  them, 


100  THE  HORSE 

If  stable  room  is  very  limited,  tlie  substitution 
of  bales  for  the  stall  division  will  allow  of  each 
horse  being  kept  in  a  more  restricted  area,  and  in 
cart-horse  stables,  the  inmates  of  which  are  too 
regularly  worked  to  get  into  much  mischief,  it  is 
better  to  do  away  with  stall  divisions  altogether, 
than  run  the  risk  of  getting  an  animal  cast  in  the 
very  narrow  stalls  which  are  so  often  provided. 

Building  Stables 

If  it  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  horse-o^^^ler  to  have 
to  build  stables,  he  cannot  do  better  than  put  him- 
self in  the  hands  of  a  finn  which  makes  a  specialty 
of  constructing  them,  seeing  that  due  attention  is 
paid  to  the  points  indicated.  If  expense  is  an  ob- 
ject, however,  he  may  cheaply  construct  a  wooden 
stable,  which  will  he  healthy  and  sanitary,  on  the 
following  lines : 

The  walls  are  best  made  entirely  of  brick, 
though  these  can  be  substituted  by  a  dwarf  wall 
of  bricks,  surmounted  by  two-inch  yellow  deal 
creosoted  boards  or  slabs.  The  roof  should  pref- 
erably be  tiled,  and,  in  every  case,  boarded  under ; 
but  good  felt  tarred  every  third  year  will  last 
twenty  years.  In  no  case  should  corrugated  iron 
be  used  either  for  roof  or  walls,  because  even 


THE  HORSE  101 

when  boarded  inside  it  is  much  too  hot  in  summer 
and  cold  in  winter. 

The  site  of  the  stable  is  a  point  of  importance. 
It  is  necessary  to  admit  sun  without  placmg  the 
building  in  such  a  position  that  it  becomes  unen- 
durably  hot  in  summer.  Xorth  is  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. Due  south  is  tempting,  because  it  will  catch 
every  ray  of  sunlight  in  whiter ;  but  this  position 
will  be  too  hot  in  summer  unless  the  building  can 
be  placed  beneath  deciduous  trees.  The  selection 
of  a  frontage  to  east  or  west  must  be  decided  by 
the  prevailing  wind  of  the  district,  and  in  a  part 
of  the  country  where  sou'westers  prevail,  the 
choice  must  fall  on  the  alternative  direction. 

The  floor  must  be  of  grooved  concrete,  with 
slight  slope  to  an  open  gutter  running  along  the 
back  of  the  stalls,  with  fall  to  either  end  of  the 
building. 

Each  stall  should  be  as  wide  as  possible  (the 
minimum  being  Rve  feet),  and  the  divisions,  for 
the  sake  of  economy,  may  be  made  with  bales. 

The  mangers  should  be  divided  into  three  di- 
visions. On  the  left  a  box-like  receptacle,  two 
feet  four  inches  deep,  and  at  its  edge  about  two 
feet  ten  inches  to  three  feet  from  the  ground,  to 
hold    hay.     Xext    to  it  another  division  on  the 


102  THE  HORSE 

same  principle,  but  less  deep,  to  hold  the  mixed 
feed  and  oats ;  and  the  thkd  of  much  the  same 
dimensions,  wherem  the  bucket  of  water  can  be 
placed. 

The  door  of  a  small  stable,  to  hold  up  to  five 
horses,  may  be  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  build- 
ing, and  should  be  made  m  two  halves,  so  that  the 
top  can  be  left  open  if  desired.  In  a  longer  stable 
there  should  be  a  door  at  each  end.  A  passage 
not  less  than  six  feet  wide  must  run  between  the 
drainage  gutter  and  the  outside  wall.  Ventilators 
should  be  placed  above  each  stall  and  below  each 
manger,  and  two  windows  going  well  up  to  the 
top  of  the  building,  and  capable  of  being  opened 
both  top  and  l)ottom,  may  be  placed  on  either  side 
of  the  door. 

The  favorite  position  of  a  harness-room  is  usu- 
ally leading  out  of  the  stable.  As  the  fumes  from 
the  stable,  the  steam  from  hot  horses,  etc.,  is  liable 
to  tarnish  the  metal,  it  is  usual  to  recommend  that 
the  harness-room  be  cut  off  entirely  from  the 
stable,  and  approached  from  outside.  Grooms  ob- 
ject to  this  plan,  as  it  entails  carrjang  the  harness 
through  the  rain  in  wet  weather,  and,  from  their 
point  of  view,  this  is  no  doubt  a  drawback. 
"Where  space  and  economy  are  important,  it  may 


THE  HORSE  103 

be  necessary  to  keep  the  harness  in  the  coach- 
house, and  this  is  certainly  less  objectionable  than 
keeping  it  in  the  stable  itself,  though  undoubtedly 
less  convenient.  The  elaborate  iron  fittings  which 
adorn  the  modern  harness-room  may  be  cheaply 
replaced  by  a  few  wooden  pegs,  etc.,  but  it  must 
be  remembered  that  the  angles  of  all  wooden  tri- 
angular saddle  supports  should  be  carefully 
"stopped"  with  pntty,  or  the  interior  will  be- 
come a  harborage  for  moths. 


CHAPTER  Y 
Food 

Oats 

Long-  experience  and  analysis  have  proved  oats 
to  be  the  best  grain  for  horses,  as,  indeed,  thei? 
are  for  many  other  animals,  including  man,  the 
reason  being  that  the  chemical  elements  of  oats 
are  such  as  are  best  suited  to  repair  the  waste 
caused  by  long-continued  exertion.  Animals  do- 
ing hard  and  fast  work  require  food  containing  a 
large  proportion  both  of  nitrogenous  and  non- 
nitrogenous  principles.  If  the  former  elements 
are  wanting  in  sufficient  quantities  in  the  diet,  the 
animal  will  become  deficient  in  muscle ;  if  the  lat- 
ter are  lacking,  the  animal  will  become  thin. 
Thus  a  good  deal  depends  on  the  class  and  qual- 
ity of  oat  supplied  to  working  horses,  and  every 
horse-owner  should  make  himself  acquainted  with 
the  characteristics  which  distinguish  them. 

Good  oats  are  plump,  clean,  hard,  and  sweet, 
with  the  appearance  of  almost  bursting  out  of 
104 


THE  HOUSE  105 

their  husks.  The  husks  should  preferably  be  thin, 
because  thin-skinned  oats  will  necessarily  contain 
more  Hour  per  bushel  than  oats  which  are  thick- 
skinned.  All  the  grains  in  a  good  sample  should 
be  much  of  the  same  size,  and  should  be  of  a 
short,  plump  variety  rather  than  long  and  thin. 
Of  course,  the  shape  and  color  of  the  grain  de- 
pend, to  a  certain  extent,  on  the  particular  variety 
of  oat  under  consideration ;  but,  as  a  broad  rule, 
it  may  be  laid  down  that  as  black  oats  grow  on 
inferior  soils,  and  as  long,  thin  seeds  are  usually  a 
characteristic  of  common,  unimproved  varieties, 
preference  should  be  given  to  plump  white  oats, 
which,  moreover,  are  thinner  skinned  than  black 
ones.     The  sample  should  be  free  from  weed  seeds. 

Oats  which  are  darkened  or  reddish  in  color, 
or  which  are  shriveled  at  the  ends  of  the  husks, 
or  w^hich  have  a  peculiar  smell  and  taste,  should 
be  suspected  of  being  kiln  dried,  and  rejected  ac- 
cordingly. Damp,  musty,  or  mouldy  oats  are,  of 
course,  unfit  for  food. 

It  is  never  advisable  to  buy  crushed  oats,  as  the 
grain  used  is  likely  to  be  of  inferior  quality.  If 
crushed  oats  are  desired,  the  whole  grain  should 
be  bought,  and  (if  not  crushed  in  a  hand-mill  at 
home)  taken  to  the  miller,  and  crushed  under  su- 


106  THE  HORSE 

pervision.      The  usual  cost  for  crushing  is  about 
twenty-five  cents  per  sack. 

Good  oats  should  weigh  forty  pounds  to  the 
bushel.  Inferior  qualities  may  weigh  as  low  as 
thii'ty-two  pounds,  but  good  oats  at  a  high  price 
are  far  cheaper  for  feeding  pui'poses  than  those  of 
poor  qualit}^  It  is  usual  to  buy  oats  with  the 
stipulation  that  they  shall  weigh  so  much  (not 
less,  we  will  say,  than  thirty-eight  pounds)  per 
bushel ;  but  a  dealer  should  never  be  allowed  to 
make  up  the  number  of  pounds  to  the  bushel  by 
giving  increased  quantity,  as,  apart  fi^om  the  ques- 
tion of  weight,  the  nutritive  quality  of  good  oats, 
grown  on  good  soil,  far  exceeds  that  of  inferior 
grain,  and  a  few  pounds'  weight  added  to  the 
measure  will  not  make  up  for  the  loss  of  quality 
in  the  bulk. 

Other  Graiit 

Corn  is  often  used  instead  of  oats,  and  answers 
very  well  for  cart  horses  or  horses  doing  slow 
work.  It  is  the  only  other  grain  which  is  at  all 
suitable  for  horses,  barley  and  wheat  being  too 
heating  if  given  in  a;ny  quantity. 

A  good  economical  mixed  ration  for  cart  horses 
in  regular  work  is  a  mixture  of  beans,  oats,  barley, 


THE  HORSE  107 

and  corn,  but  it  is  unsuitable   for   light   horses 
which  are  expected  to  do  fast  work. 

Beans  contain  a  greater  proportion  of  nutritive 
material  than  oats,  and  are  beneficial  if  given  in 
small  quantities  to  old  animals  or  those  undergo- 
ing extremely  hard  work.  They  should  be  given 
split,  and  a  "  double  handful "  per  diem,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  usual  quantity  of  oats,  is  a  fair  allow- 
ance for  the  average  horse. 

Hay 

Hay  being  the  staple  food  of  the  horse,  every 
o^^^ler  should  make  himself  conversant  with  the 
various  points  upon  which  the  quality  and  value 
depend. 

The  quality  of  hay  is  dependent,  first,  upon  the 
grasses  of  which  it  is  composed.  Between  twenty 
and  thirty  different  grasses  may  be  found  in  hay, 
only  a  comparatively  small  proportion  of  which  go 
to  make  hay  of  the  best  quality.  Inferior  hay 
consists  mainly  of  inferior  grasses :  good  hay  of 
about  ten  varieties  of  the  best  grasses. 

Xow  the  variety  and  proportion  of  the  different 
grasses  which  grow  on  land  is  largely,  if  not  en- 
tii'ely,  influenced  by  the  soil.  The  best  grasses 
only  grow  on  good  soil,  so  that  coarse,  rank  stuff 


108  THE  HORSE 

is  an  indication  that  it  comes  from  a  poor  soil,  and 
as  the  nutriment  in  grass  is  all  extracted  from  the 
soil,  hay  from  such  land  will  be  non-nutritious  and 
of  small  feeding  value.  Again,  there  is  consider- 
able difference  in  the  quality  and  feeding  value  of 
upland,  lowland,  and  water-meadow  hay.  As  only 
certain  of  the  best  grasses  are  to  be  found  in  up- 
land meadows,  upland  hay  is  characterized  by  the 
fineness  of  its  herbage,  the  narrowness  of  its 
grasses,  and  is  far  the  best  quality  of  hay  to  be 
got.  It  should  always  be  supphed  to  horses  doing 
fast  Avork.  Lowland  hay  is  known  by  the  coarse- 
ness of  its  stalks  and  the  broad  leaves  of  its  grasses. 
Water-meadow  hay  is  coarse,  and  often  full  of 
reed-  and  rush-like  plants,  and,  although  good  cattle 
grass,  is  considered  unfit  for  horses. 

The  characteristics  of  the  best  hay  are  crispness 
and  green  color,  sweetness  of  taste  and  aroma,  the 
presence  of  numerous  early  grasses  in  flower,  and 
a  proportion  of  fine  herbage. 

As  stated  above,  water-meadow  hay  is  generally 
considered  unsuitable  for  horses.  A  third  factor, 
that  of  the  time  at  which  the  hay  was  cut,  has 
such  an  important  bearing  on  its  subsequent  feed- 
ing value,  however,  that  it  is  necessary  to  enter 
into  a  few  details  with  regard  to  hay-making  as  it 


THE  HORSE  109 

is,  and  as  it  should  be  conducted,  to  shoAV  how  the 
value  of  liay  may  be  influenced  by  the  cutting. 
The  average  farmer  often  delays  cutting  his  hay 
in  the  hope  of  getting  greater  bulk  of  under-grass. 
It  is  a  common  sight  to  see  fields  of  standing 
brown  herbage  so  dry  that  when  it  is  cut  it  needs 
no  making.  The  gi^eater  part  of  the  nutriment  of 
all  crops  passes  into  the  seeds  and  is  exhausted  in 
their  production — for  instance,  the  feeding  value 
of  straw  is  comparatively  small  because  the  greater 
part  of  the  nutrient  properties  has  passed  into  the 
grains  of  wheat,  oats,  etc.,  as  the  case  may  be,  and 
the  same  principle  applies  to  grass.  If,  therefore, 
grass  is  cut  after  the  seeds  are  formed  and  have 
fallen  out  (as  they  immediately  do  when  ripe),  the 
most  nutritious  part  of  the  crop  is  lost,  and  all  that 
is  left  for  the  horse  to  eat  is  that  portion  which 
has  been  robbed  of  its  most  valuable  constituents. 
For  this  reason  we  should  prefer  to  buy,  at  equal 
prices,  a  ton  of  despised  water-meadow  hay  which 
was  early  cut,  while  all  the  grasses  were  yet  in 
flower,  to  a  ton  of  upland  hay  from  the  best  land 
which  was  cut  late.  Consequently  it  is  almost  im- 
possible to  lay  do^vn  any  hard-and-fast  rules  for 
the  guidance  of  the  novice  in  the  purchase  of  hay, 
for    in    certain    cases  coarse  hay,   containing  a 


no  THE  HORSE 

quantity  of  inferior  grasses,  may  be  of  better  feed- 
ing value  than  that  made  from  herbage  of  the 
finest  quality.  Experiments  have  proved  that  hay 
made  from  grass  cut  early  ^vill  fat  a  bullock  alone, 
while  hay  from  similar  land  cut  late  has  proved 
quite  incapable  of  doing  this  without  the  addition 
of  cake,  etc.  Furthermore,  the  way  hay  was  saved 
may  make  an  appreciable  difference  in  its  feeding 
value,  apart  from  the  actual  quality  of  the  herbage. 
Grass  may  be  cut  early  when  all  the  grasses  are 
in  flower,  and  yet,  owing  to  bad  weather,  it 
may  have  required  so  much  tossing  and  turning, 
and  have  lain  about  so  long,  that  by  the  tune  it 
gets  to  the  rick  all  the  sugar  will  have  been  washed 
out  of  it  and  its  value  thus  reduced.  The  careful 
modern  farmer  turns  and  tosses  his  hay  as  little  as 
possible,  for  he  knows  that  the  better  will  the  feed- 
ing value  be.  The  old  method  of  tossing  hay  ydth 
a  pitchfork  is  quite  obsolete,  and  a  careful  turning 
over  with  a  hand-rake  is  the  most  that  is  required 
in  a  favorable  season. 

Mow-burned  hay  may  be  recognized  by  its  strong 
smell  and  dark  color.  The  condition  is  due  to 
heating  in  the  stack,  and  although  horses  are  fond 
of  it,  it  is  apt  to  act  deleteriously  on  the  kidneys  if 
given  to  them  in  any  quantity. 


THE  HORSE  111 

Dust  in  hay  is  generally  clue  to  the  hay  having 
got  slightly  over  dry.  The  so-called  dust  is  in 
reality  the  outer  layers  or  coats  of  the  stems  and 
leaves  in  a  state  of  dessication.  Dust  may  also  be 
caused  by  blight  having  fallen  on  the  grass  when 
standing.  In  any  case,  to  whatever  due,  dust  in 
hay  is  an  indication  that  the  hay  is  not  in  the  finest 
condition.  Hay  which  is  actually  mouldy  is  ob- 
viously unfit  for  food,  and  its  use  v\all  lead  to  a 
form  of  indigestion  which  will  be  likely  to  result 
in  broken  wind. 

New  hay,  i.  e.,  hay  made  in  the  same  year, 
should  ne^^er  be  used  before  Christmas,  as  it  is  apt 
to  cause  scouring.  Well-saved  hay  is  at  its  best 
at  from  one  to  two  years.  When  older  than  this 
it  will  have  lost  much  of  its  feeding  qualities. 

Good  clover  hay  is  fattening,  and  is  much  liked 
by  horses.  It  is  not  so  suitable  as  meadow  hay  for 
animals  which  do  fast  work,  as  it  militates  against 
hard  condition  and  good  wind. 

Straw 
Straw  has  more  feeding  value  than  is  usually 
supposed,  although,  compared  to  hay,  these  prop- 
erties are,  of  course,  not  high.     The  whole  secret 
of  its  value,  as  food  or  the  reverse  lies  in  the  time 


112  THE  HORSE 

at  which  the  crop  was  cut.  By  reason  of  their 
liability  to  seed  out,  oats  are  always  cut  fairly 
green,  when,  consequently,  a  lot  of  the  nutrient 
material  is  still  in  the  straw.  Oat  straw,  then, 
which  is  known  to  have  been  early  cut,  may  make 
an  excellent  addition  to  the  forage  of  horses  which 
are  not  expected  to  gallop.  Wheat  straw  is  cut 
when  the  grain  is  comparatively  ripe,  so  that  there 
is  little  if  any  nutritive  material  left  in  it.  Barley 
is  cut  dead  ripe,  and  the  stra^v,  for  this  reason,  as 
well  as  for  another  to  be  mentioned  hereafter,  is 
practically  valueless  either  as  food  or  bedding. 

Othee  Foods 
Bran  is  generally  used  in  the  stable  in  the  form 
of  a  bran  mash,  which  is  made  by  pouring  as  much 
boiling  water  on  dry  bran  as  will  be  absorbed,  add- 
ing salt,  and  putting  a  handful  of  dry  bran  on  top 
of  the  mixtm^e  to  keep  in  the  steam.  Given  on 
Saturday  nights  instead  of  a  feed  of  corn,  this 
mash  will,  by  its  somewhat  laxative  action,  help 
to  keep  in  health  those  horses  which  spend  their 
whole  lives  in  the  stable  with  never  a  run  at  grass. 
Dry  bran  has  an  astringent  action,  and  is,  con- 
sequently, not  to  be  recommended  as  part  of  the 
regular  dietary. 


THE  HORSE  113 

Large  quantities  of  bran  should  never  be  bought 
at  one  time.  It  should,  when  fresh,  be  free  from 
any  slight  musty  or  sour  smell. 

Linseed  is  also  slightly  laxative,  and  is  to  be 
recommended  as  a  conditioner.  It  should  be 
boiled  to  a  jelly,  and  a  small  teacupful  given 
daily  with  the  corn  for  a  few  weeks  will  make  a 
marked  unprovement  in  the  ap])earance  of  a 
horse's  coat.  Harsh-coated  horses  will  particu- 
larly benefit  b}^  a  course  of  boiled  linseed. 

Artificial  foods  and  "  conditioners  "  are  not  to 
be  recommended.  The  buyer  can  never  tell  what 
they  are  made  of,  and  if  guaranteed  free  from 
injurious  ingredients,  the  price  vfill  be  prohibitive 
to  the  ordinary  pocket.  A  horse  which  cannot  live 
and  thrive  on  a  good  quality  of  natural  food  is 
not  worth  keeping,  and  is  certainly  not  sufficiently 
valuable  to  warrant  the  spending  of  dollars  on 
patent  foods  of  doubtful  benefit.  If  something 
extra  is  required  for  a  horse  which,  say,  is  recover- 
ing from  illness,  or  is  from  any  cause  run  down, 
the  owner  can  buy  the  "  raw  materials,"  such  as 
locust-bean.  Linseed,  ginger,  and  Indian  corn, 
which  is  what  the^se  foods  are  usually  composed  of, 
and  mix  a  food  for  himself  at  a  quarter  the  cost,  and 
with  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  what  he  is  giving. 


CHAPTEE  YI 
Stable  Management 

Appliances 
Every  horse-owner  will  have  to  provide  him- 
self with  a  certain  number  of  stable  tools,  and 
below  is  a  list  of  those  that  are  absolutely  neces- 
sary in  the  smallest  stable. 

Pails 

The  first  item  to  be  purchased  will  be  buckets, 
at  the  rate  of  one  per  horse  if  several  horses  are 
kept,  or  two  for  one  horse,  three  for  two.  Best 
oak  pails  cost  about  seventy-five  cents  each ;  if 
painted,  about  $1.00 ;  galvauized  pails  a  little  less. 
The  latter,  if  of  good  quality,  and  consequently 
strong,  answer  their  purpose  as  well  as  the  more 
expensive  oak,  but  will  not  last  so  long.  If 
economy  is  the  order  of  the  day,  carefully- 
selected  lard  buckets,  which  are  to  be  got  at  any 
grocer's,  will  be  found  as  useful  in  the  stable  as 
they  are  for  many  other  pm^poses.  We  say  "  care- 
lU 


THE  HORSE  115 

fiilly  selected,''  because  the  buckets  vary  slightly 
in  the  quality  and  thickness  of  the  wood  with 
which  they  are  made.  They  have  a  copper-wire 
handle,  which  is  perhaps  their  weakest  point ;  the 
handle  from  a  worn-out  zinc  bucket  can,  however, 
be  fastened  on  as  a  substitute  when  the  original 
handle  has  succumbed  to  the  strain.  These  buckets 
cost  very  little,  and  if  given  a  coat  of  enamel,  they 
pass  very  well  for  the  real  thing.  From  a  sanitary 
point  of  view,  zinc  pails  are  preferable  to  wooden 
ones,  as  the  inevitable  deposit  from  the  water  is 
more  easily  and  thoroughly  cleaned  off. 

Beushes,  etc. 
Two  brushes  and  a  comb  are  the  least  that  can 
be  done  with.  A  "  dandy  "  brush  is  indispensable 
in  every  stable,  and  a  body  brush  is-requu-ed  to 
supplement  the  dandy  if  the  horses  are  to  be  even 
moderately  well  turned  out.  A  dandy  brush  costs 
fifty  cents,  and  will  generally  last  a  year  for  a 
couple  of  horses,  after  which  its  remaining  fibres 
may  be  cut  down,  and  the  brush  will  be  useful  for 
a  variety  of  purposes.  The  back  of  a  dandy  brush 
should  never  be  dipped  in  water,  nor  should  the 
fibres  be  wetted  except  when  the  brush  is  oc- 
casionally washed,  if  it  is  expected  to  last.     The 


116  THE  HORSE 

flat  body  brush,  Avith  its  strap  across  the  back 
under  which  to  put  the  hand,  is  a  more  expensive 
affair  to  buy,  but  as  it  will,  with  ordinary  care, 
last  several  years,  its  cost  will  in  the  end  be  less 
than  that  of  the  dand}^.  A  strong  mane  comb,  a 
small  "  pick  "  wherewith  to  clean  the  hoofs,  and  a 
cmTycomb  are  the  only  other  really  necessary 
items  of  the  toilet,  with  two  or  three  rubbers  or 
dusters  with  which  to  give  the  final  polish.  We 
have  purposely  omitted  to  mention  a  ^vater-brush, 
as  modern  stable  management  condemns  the 
practice  of  washing  the  feet  of  horses. 

Other  Accessories 

The  coach-house  and  harness-room  accessories 
depend  on  the  style  in  which  the  vehicles  are 
turned  out.  The  least  that  can  be  done  with  in  a 
gentleman's  stable  is  as  follows : — wheel  jack, 
spoke  brush,  cushion  brush,  sponge,  and  chamois 
leather  for  the  carriages ;  globe  polish,  saddle 
soap,  silver  sand,  harness  blacking  and  brushes, 
and  burnisher  for  the  harness-room,  as  well  as 
sundiy  rubbers  and  dusters  or  rags. 

Of  course,  a  feed-cutter  is  an  excellent  and  use- 
ful addition  to  the  stable,  and  is  worth  getting  if 
several  horses  are  kept ;  and  a  sieve  and  quarter- 


THE  HORSE  117 

peck  measure  will  be  required  in  a  stable  of  the 
smallest  dimensions.  A  pitchfork,  shovel,  and 
broom  will  be  required  for  cleaning  purposes ;  also 
a  wheelbarrow  if  one  cannot  be  borrowed  from 
the  garden. 

EouTiNE  Management 

The  first  thing  in  the  morning  the  groom  should 
clean  out  the  stable,  removing  all  soiled  litter,  and 
flushing  out  drains  if  such  exist.  The  horses  should 
then  have  their  morning  feed  of  oats  or  corn  and 
hay,  and  a  bucketful  of  fresh  water.  After  their 
breakfast  they  should  be  cleaned,  either  in  or  out 
of  the  stable.  It  is  always  preferable  that  each 
horse  should  be  taken  outside  if  possible  for  this 
operation,  as  it  is  objectionable  that  the  dust  and 
debris  should  fill  the  stable.  The  most  important 
part  of  the  toilet  is  a  vigorous  grooming  with  the 
dandy  brush.  The  object  of  brushing,  which 
grooms  are  often  apt  to  overlook,  is  not  so  much 
to  get  a  gloss  on  the  animal,  though  this  is  no 
doubt  desirable,  but  to  apply  friction  to  the  skin, 
and  thus  remove  dead  cuticle.  The  gloss  is  more 
a  matter  of  general  health  than  an  indication  of 
good  grooming,  and  a  horse  in  the  most  perfect 
health  and  condition  will  carry  a  bloom  without 


118  THE  HORSE 

the  assistance  of  elbow-grease.  TVhen  the  mane 
and  tail  have  been  combed  and  brushed,  and  the 
hoofs  picked  out,  the  toilet  of  the  horse  may  be 
considered  to  be  completed.  If  the  owner  has 
doubt  as  to  the  eifiGiency  of  his  groom's  work,  he 
can  get  a  fair  idea  of  how  the  horse  is  cleaned  by 
partmg  the  hair  of  the  tail.  Much  gray  dust  or 
grease  at  the  roots  of  the  haks  is  a  sure  sign  that 
this  part  receives  but  little  attention  from  the 
brush,  and  it  is  then  fairly  certain  that  the  body 
of  the  horse  is  in  the  same  condition.  One  should 
always  be  able  to  run  one's  hand  over  the  body  of 
a  well-cleaned,  healthy  horse  ^vithout  getting  an 
appreciable  amount  of  grease  thereon,  and  the 
presence  of  much  grease  suggests  either  that  the 
grooming  or  the  exercise,  or  both,  are  neglected. 
These  remarks  apply,  of  course,  to  horses  wliich 
are  constantly  stabled.  Horses  at  grass  are  always 
greasy. 

It  is  customary,  as  a  rule,  to  feed  horses  three 
times  a  day.  The  midday  feed,  like  the  morning 
one,  is  usually  chaff  or  hay  and  oats,  and  the  same 
ration  is  supplemented  in  the  evening  by  a  rackiul 
of  hay. 

It  is  usual  in  most  stables  to  allow  the  horses  to 
stand  on  straw  all  day.    It  undoubtedly  looks 


THE  HORSE  119 

nicer;  furthermore,  it  is  urged  by  advocates  of 
the  practice  that  horses  will  be  liable  to  slip  upon 
the  bare  floor,  but  this  rarely  if  ever  occurs.  This 
standing  on  the  bedding,  and  the  consequent  con- 
tinual wetness  of  the  floor,  is  the  most  fruitful 
cause  of  thrush,  and  probably,  indirectly,  causes 
more  broken  knees  than  is  generally  realized.  The 
bedding  should  always  be  removed  in  the  day- 
time, and,  if  possible,  put  outside,  where  it  will 
get  purified  and  dried  by  the  au'  and  sun.  The 
stable  floor  will  thus  become  clean  and  dry,  and 
the  result  of  these  measures  will  be  apparent  in 
the  health  of  the  feet  of  the  horses  so  treated. 
The  half  measure  of  thrusting  the  straw  under 
the  manger,  where  its  presence  is  injurious  to  eyes 
and  lungs,  is  worse  on  the  whole  than  leaving  it 
down  on  the  floor,  and  every  horse-owner  should 
insist  on  its  entire  removal  for  a  few  hours  during 
the  daytime. 

Washing  Feet 
It  is  the  custom  in  some  stables  to  wash  the 
feet  of  horses  when  they  come  in  from  exercise  or 
work.  The  prevalence  of  cracked  heels,  grease, 
thrush,  and  other  evils  which  more  or  less  inca- 
pacitate a  horse  for  the  work  which  he  has  to 


120  THE  HORSE 

perform,  has  led  to  the  closer  study  of  the  matter, 
and  has  resulted  in  the  discovery  that  the  above- 
mentioned  ills  are  enthely  due  to  (or,  at  any  rate, 
can  be  entirely  prevented  by  abstention  from) 
washing  the  feet  and  legs.  The  evil  lies,  of 
course,  in  the  drying  rather  than  the  actual  wash- 
ing. The  extreme  cold  produced  by  the  rapid 
evaporation  of  the  half -dried  hair  drives  the  blood 
away  from  the  part,  and  the  consequent  cold  feet 
are  liable  to  eczema  and  cracked  heels.  The  cHp- 
ping  of  the  hair  off  the  back  part  of  the  fetlock  is 
another  predisposing  cause.  Bandaging  the  legs 
immediately  after  washing  may  to  some  extent 
prevent  the  evil ;  but  the  only  true  and  satis- 
factory method  is  to  clean  the  legs  with  a  wisp, 
and  never  allow  water  to  be  applied  to  them. 
Grooms  object  to  this,  as  it  gives  them  more 
trouble  and  the  legs  do  not  look  so  nice ;  but  it 
should  be  insisted  on.  The  slight  dust  and  mud 
collected  by  the  feet  during  exercise  has  been 
found  to  be  the  reverse  of  prejudicial  if  left  on, 
and  no  horse-owner  need  fear  any  ill  effects  from 
departing  fi^om  the  old-established  method  of 
washing  the  feet  and  legs  of  horses.  He  will 
find,  on  the  contrary,  that  his  stable  will  be  abso- 
lutely free  from  those  complaints  to  which  nine 


THE  HORSE  121 

out    of    ten    stabled    horses    are  subject  in  the 
winter. 

Mud  fever  is  another  ailment  which  can,  as  a 
rule,  be  traced  to  faulty  methods  of  management. 
At  one  time  quite  a  large  proportion  of  clipped 
hunters  and  harness  horses  in  certain  districts  were 
the  victims  of  this  complaint.  It  has  now  been 
found  that  if  the  mud  is  left  to  dry  on  the  horse 
will  never  suffer  from  any  inflammatory  condi- 
tion of  the  skin.  This  may  seem  a  somewhat 
drastic  and  dirty  method,  and  it  does  not  recom- 
mend itself  to  tidy  grooms,  but  it  is  the  only  sure 
preventative  of  the  complaint.  In  those  stables 
in  which  the  owner  takes  an  intelligent  and  active 
interest  in  his  animals,  the  hunters  are  turned  into 
their  boxes  with  legs  and  belly  uncleaned,  and  the 
dried  mud  is  not  removed  until  the  following 
morning.  This  practice  has  been  attended  with 
the  happiest  results  as  far  as  the  health  of  the 
horses  is  concerned,  and  it  is  to  be  recommended 
to  all  who  wish  to  keep  their  animals  fit  and  well, 
and  free  from  those  tiresome  minor  ailments  which 
incapacitate  a  number  of  harness  horses  and  hunt- 
ers every  year.  The  practice  of  washing  the 
bodies  of  horses  is  not  to  be  recommended  under 
ordinary  circumstances,  as  it  has  a  tendency  to 


122  THE  HOESE 

check  the  action  of  the  oil  glands,  which,  under 
natural  conditions,  secrete  oil  to  assist  the  thatch 
or  covering  of  hair  to  turn  off  rain ;  also,  unless 
each  part  is  immediately  and  thoroughly  dried, 
one  of  the  above-mentioned  skin  diseases  will  be 
likely  to  appear. 

A  sweating  horse  should  be  unmediately  dried 
on  its  return  home  by  vigorous  rubbing  with  hay 
or  straw  wisps.  If  a  heated  horse  is  allowed  to 
dry  by  evaporation  it  will  probably  contract  a 
chill.  The  extremities  should  always  be  dried 
first,  and  while  this  is  being  done  a  blanket  should 
be  thrown  over  the  body.  A  fruitful  source  of 
coughs  and  chills  is  exposure  of  the  heated  back 
and  loins  to  the  cold  while  the  groom  is  drying 
legs  and  head.  The  saddle  or  harness  should  al- 
ways be  left  on  while  these  parts  are  attended  to, 
and  in  addition,  if  the  horse  is  very  hot,  a  blanket 
should  be  throTsm  across  the  loins.  While  on  this 
subject  we  may  suggest  the  advisability  of  always 
throwing  a  light  cloth  across  the  loins  of  the 
clipped  harness  horse  in  winter  if  it  has  to  stand 
about  out-of-doors  for  more  than  two  or  three 
minutes. 

If  for  any  reason  it  is  impossible  to  immediately 
dry  a  perspiring  horse,  the  evil  consequence  which 


THE  HORSE  123 

may  result  from  the  delay  may  be  minimized  by 
clothing  the  animal  warmly  and  putting  on  band- 
ages, or  by  having  it  led  about  with  saddle  on  un- 
til it  can  be  attended  to. 

Grooming  with  a  hard  brush  immediately  after 
exercise  is  essential  to  the  health  of  a  horse,  as  the 
pores  are  then  all  open  and  the  brush  will  thor- 
oughly clean  the  skin.  Extra  grooming  should 
always  be  insisted  on  as  a  substitute  for  exercise 
in  bad  weather. 

Clipping 
Well-bred  horses  kept  continually  stabled  sel- 
dom want  clipping,  and  if  the  animals  have  to  do 
work  which  entails  much  standing  about,  it  is  cer- 
tainly not  to  be  recommended.  Clipped  horses 
are  easier  to  clean  and  dry,  and  can  (theoretically) 
do  their  work  better,  than  horses  carrying  a  long 
winter  coat ;  but  against  this  it  is  necessary  to  put 
the  increased  liabilitj^  (and  consequent  risk  of  total 
or  temporary  loss)  of  the  animals  catching  cold, 
and  the  additional  expense  of  providing  blankets, 
clipping  machine,  etc.  The  method  of  clipping 
the  legs  and  belly  only,  mth  the  idea  of  leaving  a 
warm  covering  over  back  and  loins,  is  not  to  be 
recommended,  as  the  horse  is  as  likely  to  contract 


124  THE  HORSE 

chill  if  his  extremities  are  bare  as  if  he  was  entirely 
clipped.  In  rough  countries  the  legs  of  hunters 
are  often  left  undipped  to  save  them  from  slight  in- 
juries. Some  people  leave  the  hah  under  the  sad- 
dle of  a  riding  horse.  Is  is  difficult  to  see  what 
benefit  results  from  doing  so,  as  the  long  hah  can 
only  add  to  the  heat  of  a  part  which  ^dll  in  any 
case  become  heated,  and  the  risk  of  a  sore  back  is 
increased  thereb}^ 

One  thick  cloth  is  enough  covering  for  the  body 
of  a  cUpped  horse  in  the  average  stable.  The  legs 
and  feet  of  the  horse,  which  has  had  his  hair  arti- 
ficially removed  from  them,  get  colder  than  they 
ought,  and  for  this  reason  the  hair  should  be  left 
on  the  legs  of  all  horses,  whatever  their  work.  If 
the  hair  is  removed,  bandaging  is  the  only  way  in 
which  the  extremities  can  be  protected,  and  con- 
tinual bandaging  is  not  advisable.  The  horse- 
cloth should  always  meet  over  the  chest.  It  must 
always  be  remembered  that  the  horse  must  nat- 
urally feel  the  artificial  removal  of  his  protective 
covering  during  the  time  of  year  when  natm-e  has 
provided  him  with  it  because  he  requires  it,  and 
that,  therefore,  he  must  be  supplied  with  a  fair 
substitute  if  it  is  desired  to  keep  him  in  health  and 
condition.     It  is  usual  to  supply  a  common  night- 


THE  HORSE  1^5 

blanket  to  save  the  better  clay-cloth  from  the  mev- 
itable  soiling  when  the  horse  lies  down. 

In  some  stables  it  is  the  practice  to  keep  the 
horses  clothed  practically  all  the  year  round  in  one 
kersey  cloth,  and  to  load  them  with  two  or  three 
when  clipped.  The  horse's  hair  is,  no  doubt,  made 
finer  and  shorter  by  this  treatment ;  but  it  must 
also  be  weakening  to  an  animal  to  be  so  loaded 
with  hot  blankets,  and  the  liability  to  chills  at  all 
times  of  the  year  is,  of  course,  intensified.  The 
fewer  blankets  the  better  in  every  stable,  espe- 
cially for  horses  such  as  hunters,  whose  work  en- 
tails a  lot  of  standing  about  in  every  class  of 
weather. 

Clipping  should  not  be  commenced  before  the 
end  of  the  first  week  in  October,  and  may  need  to 
be  done  once  again  before  Christmas.  IS'o  horse 
should  be  clipped  after  Christmas,  or  it  will  be  very 
late  in  getting  its  summer  coat.  If  the  removal 
of  the  hair  is  left  until  the  coat  is  "  set,"  which 
will  be  early  in  November,  the  operation  will  only 
need  to  be  performed  once. 

Bedding 
The  clioice  of  bedding  lies  between  the  various 
straws  and  sawdust.     Some    few    people    favor 


126  THE  HORSE 

sawdust  because  of  its  slightly  antiseptic  prop- 
erties, which  they  consider  beneficial  to  the 
horse's  feet.  When  stra^Y  is  scarce  there  is  no 
reason  it  should  not  be  used  as  a  substitute,  pro- 
vided all  the  drains  are  carefully  stopped  up.  For 
horses  which  eat  their  beds,  some  substitute  for 
straw  has  to  be  provided,  and  we  should  prefer 
sawdust.  The  latter  is  only  to  be  recommended 
if  the  o\vner  is  unusuall}^  favorably  situated  for 
obtaining  it  easily  and  cheaply.  About  100  lbs. 
per  week  will  be  required,  and  the  sawdust  should 
be  entirely  renewed  every  week.  Grooms  will 
generally  raise  objections  to  the  use  of  sawdust, 
because  it  is  apt  to  make  the  stable  and  the  horse 
very  dusty,  and  consequently  their  work  is  in- 
creased. 

Of  the  various  straws,  wheat  is,  in  every  re- 
spect, the  most  suitable  for  bedding.  Oat  straw 
is  too  expensive,  and  also  few  horses  will  be  able 
to  resist  the  temptation  of  eating  it.  Barley 
straw  should  never  be  used,  as  the  "  3.vms  "  get 
into  the  horse's  coat,  cause  intense  irritation,  and 
subsequently  lead  to  a  skin  eruption.  All 
''  bearded  "  straws  are  open  to  the  same  objection. 
Therefore  we  are  perforce  reduced  to  common 
wheat  straw,  which  varies  in  price,  according  to 


THE  HORSE  12t 

district,  season,  etc.  About  thirty  pounds  a  week 
will  make  a  good  bed  for  one  horse ;  but  under 
strictly  economical  management,  and  if  the  litter 
is  turned  out  and  dried  daily,  this  allowance  can 
be  considerably  reduced.  In  all  cases  a  thick  bed 
should  be  provided,  as  it  adds  to  the  rest,  comfort, 
and  therefore  to  the  general  welfare  and  working 
capacity  of  the  animaL 


CHAPTEE  YII 

Feeding  and  Watering 

Feeding 
As  already  remarked,  hay  and  oats  is  the  staple 
food  of  the  horse.  Corn  is  not  a  natural  food, 
and  it  is  questionable  if  too  large  a  proportion  in 
the  dietary  is  not  absolutely  injurious.  As  we 
keep  horses  in  a.n  artificial  manner  and  work 
them,  we  must  presumably  feed  them  to  a  certain 
extent  artificially  to  enable  them  to  perform  their 
duties.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  constantly  proved 
that  horses  are  capable  of  long  and  sustained 
exertion  on  a  dietary  of  nothing  but  grass.  We 
hear  of  men  in  the  far  West  catching  up  a  horse 
and  riding  it  for  distances  such  as  we  should  not 
dream  of  traversing  in  the  Eastern  states,  and  the 
animal  is  apparently  in  no  way  the  worse.  It  is 
doubtful,  however,  if  a  grass-fed  animal  would  be 
capable  of  doing  regular  hard  work  under  these 
conditions,  although  it  is  certain  that  it  is  capable 
of  violent  exertion  occasionally.  Many  horses, 
128 


THE  HORSE  129 

however,  live  on  grass  alone,  without  the  addition 
of  dry  food,  and  are  not  less  active  or  capable  than 
stabled  horses.  In  autumn  and  winter,  though, 
they  are  liable  to  sweat  profusely  if  driven  far, 
and  in  consequence  of  the  danger  of  a  chill  from 
this  cause,  and  the  difficulty  of  drying  the  long 
coat  thoroughly  before  turning  out  again,  it  is 
perhaps  inadvisable  to  keep  out  at  grass  all  the 
winter  a  horse  which  has  to  work  regularly.  As 
hinted  in  a  previous  chapter,  it  is  not  wise  to  clip 
horses  which  are  kept  in  the  stable. 

Presuming,  then,  that  a  horse  is  regularly 
worked,  he  will  require  a  proportion  of  oats  in 
his  dietary.  The  regulation  cavalry  allowance  is 
twelve  pounds  per  day,  given  in  three  feeds,  and 
ex}3erience  has  proved  that  it  is  sufficient  for 
anunals  doing  regular  work.  Hunters  are  often 
given  as  much  as  fifteen  or  sixteen  pounds,  and 
the  same  amount  is  the  average  quantity  con- 
sumed by  race-horses  in  training.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  harder  the  work  the  greater  the 
quantity  of  food  required ;  but  we  question 
whether  the  additional  food,  always  remembering 
that  oats  are  not  a  natural  food,  is  not  best  suited 
to  the  horse's  stomach  and  digestive  capacity  if  it 
takes  the  form  of  best  quality  hay.    Four  quarter- 


130  THE  HOHSE 

peck  measures,  or  ten  pounds  of  oats  (each  quarter- 
peck  measure  weighing  two  and  a  half  pounds 
if  the  oats  are  of  good  quality  and  forty  pounds 
to  the  bushel)  per  diem,  should  be  ample  for  a 
sixteen-hand  carriage  horse  doing  daily  work. 
When  doing  little  work,  one  measure  less  is  suffi- 
cient. 

The  demeanor  of  the  individual  is  the  best  indi- 
cation of  the  quantity  of  oats  which  suits  him,  as 
horses  undoubtedly  vary  in  the  amount  which 
they  require  and  which  is  good  for  them.  Unduly 
exuberant  spirits,  and  a  playfulness  which  borders 
on  the  dangerous,  is  generally  an  indication  that 
the  work  is  inadequate  for  the  food,  and  a  better 
adjustment,  by  the  reduction  of  the  latter  by  a 
"  feed,"  will  usually  result  in  a  rational  sobriety. 

Some  horses  are  unable  to  "  stand  "  corn  at  all, 
and  do  not  thrive  as  well  if  it  is  included  in  their 
menu.  Such  animals  are  usually  what  we  might 
call  the  less  refined  members  of  the  race — the 
older,  less  improved  varieties.  The  more  thorough- 
bred blood  a  horse  possesses,  the  more  corn  will 
he  be  capable  of  assimilating,  and  the  less  well 
will  he  do  without  it  as  a  rule.  As  thoroughbreds 
are  practically  raised  on  oats,  theu'  digestion  has 
presumably  adapted  itself  to  this  food.     Ponies, 


THE  HORSE  131 

on  the  contrary,  can  rarely  stand  oats,  which  im- 
mediately "  get  into  their  heads,"  and  cause  them 
to  be  unruly  and  unmanageable.  Oats  are  said  to 
be  unsuitable,  also,  for  Arabian  horses,  and  one  of 
our  greatest  breeders  cautions  purchasers  against 
feeding  horses  of  this  variety  on  the  regular  sys- 
tem, and  advocates  a  diet  exclusively  composed  of 
hay  and  grass.  The  exciting  principle  in  oats,  it 
may  be  mentioned,  is  an  albuminoid  called  avenine, 
and  its  bad  effects  are  minimized  if  the  oats  are 
given  bruised  or  ground. 

Ponies  under  twelve  hands,  then,  will  do  better 
on  hay  on] 3^,  and  all  ponies  which  are  doing  little 
work  will  thrive  best  if  corn  is  withheld.  Ponies 
of  about  fourteen  hands,  which  are  doing  hard 
and  regular  work,  may  have  an  allowance  of  two 
quarter-peck  measures  daily  if  they  can  stand  it. 

It  must  always  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  com 
must  be  regulated  to  the  vrork,  and  that  it  is  only 
needful  as  an  addition  to  hay  or  grass  when  or  be- 
cause a  horse  is  working.  Also  that,  as  a  rough 
rule,  the  longer  hours  a  horse  works,  the  more 
oats  will  he  be  able  to  consume  with  benefit  to 
himself,  and,  consequently,  the  more  work  will  he 
be  capable  of  performing.  In  mentioning  the 
necessary  allowances  of  oats,  it  is,  of  course,  pre- 


132  THE  HORSE 

sumed  that  the  grain  under  consideration  is  of  the 
very  highest  quality. 

Hay 

The  horse  is  so  fashioned  as  to  require  a  certain 
proportion  of  bulky  food  for  the  mechanical  dis- 
tention of  his  stomach,  without  which  it  will  not 
act  properly.  Hay,  in  the  absence  of  grass,  fulfils 
this  function,  and  for  this  reason  it  is  not  correct 
to  give  a  dietary  of  oats  ad  lib.,  vfith  a  little  hay 
as  an  addition,  but  exactly  the  opposite,  and,  pre- 
sumably, more  natural  and  healthy  regune.  It  is 
customary  to  give  chopped  hay  with  the  oats  in 
many  stables,  with  the  idea  that  it  will  prevent 
the  horse  being  able  to  "  gobble  "  his  feed  up  too 
rapidly.  We  fail  to  see  any  advantage  in  this 
mixed  ration,  and  it  is  liable  to  give  rise  to  several 
undesirable  results.  For  instance,  a  horse  will 
generally  "  nose  "  out  a  good  deal  of  the  chopped 
hay  to  get  at  the  grain,  and  a  proportion  of  the 
feed  will  in  consequence  be  wasted.  Also,  the 
owner  is  sometimes  tempted  to  cut  up  inferior  hay 
with  the  idea  that  the  horse  will  eat  it  thus, 
though  he  would  refuse  it  if  given  whole.  As  bad 
hay  is  equally  injurious  to  the  animal  whether  he 
eats  it  long  or  short,  this  practice  cannot  be  tOQ 


THE  HORSE  133 

strongly  condemned,  raul  we  would  also  particu- 
larly warn  the  horse-owner  agamst  buying  hay 
already  cut.  The  commonest  trick  of  the  hay 
merchant  is  to  cut  inferior  stuff,  and  deliver  it  as 
a  portion  of  the  purchased  load,  as  in  this  way  he 
saves  a  bale  or  so  of  the  good  hay  for  which  he 
has  been  paid  a  fair  price,  and  substitutes  some 
damaged  fodder  which  is  probably  worthless  and 
unfit  for  food  for  horses.  If  chopped  hay  is  used, 
it  must  be  cut  at  home  from  such  samples  of  hay 
as  would  be  given  to  the  horse  long ;  but,  as  we 
have  akeady  suggested,  such  slight  advantage  as 
may  accrue  from  its  use  is  hardly  worth  the  ex- 
pense of  purchase  of  a  feed-cutter,  and  the  waste 
of  a  man's  time  using  it. 

The  army  ration  of  hay  is  twelve  pounds,  and 
this  is  no  doubt  sufficient  for  a  horse  m  ordinary 
work.  If  the  oat  ration  is  cut  down  the  hay  al- 
lowance must  be  proportionately  raised,  and  for 
every  pound  of  oats  which  is  saved  three  extra 
pounds  of  hay  should  be  given.  For  animals  do- 
ing hard  work  we  should  allow  as  much  hay  as 
they  will  eat,  which  amount  will  soon  be  arrived 
at  by  experiment  and  observation.  Horses  which 
are  leading  an  easy  life  will  need  to  be  rationed 
if  it  is  desired  that  they  do  not  become  unduly 


134  THE  HORSE 

fat.  In  any  case,  if  a  horse  "  picks  over  "  his  hay, 
pulling  out  and  neglecting  all  but  the  choicest 
locks,  it  is  an  indication  that  he  is  being  supplied 
with  too  great  an  amount.  Ponies  of  fourteen 
hands  v/hich  are  not  having  oats  will  need  twelve 
to  fourteen  pounds  per  diem ;  small  ponies  under 
twelve  hands  eight  to  ten  pounds.  One  should 
never  stint  hay  to  any  variety  of  horse,  preferring 
rather  to  limit  the  oats  if  a  reduction  in  the  diet- 
ary is  necessary.  If  chopped  feed  is  given,  a  pro- 
portion of  the  above-mentioned  allowances  must 
of  course  be  cut  up. 

It  cannot  be  too  strongly  impressed  upon  the 
horse-owner  that  the  food  must  be  regulated  to 
the  work  of  the  individual,  and  that  consequently 
it  is  impossible  to  lay  down  any  hard  and  fast 
rules  about  the  quantity  of  food  required.  Too 
fat  a  horse  is  as  incapable  of  doing  good  work  as 
one  too  thin,  and  the  object  must  always  be  to 
keep  the  animal  in  that  condition  vrhich  will  best 
enable  him  to  perform  that  which  is  requked  of 
him  with  the  greatest  ease  to  himself. 

TuET^iiS-G  Out  to  Grass 
It  is  undoubtedly  beneficial  to  every  horse  to 
get  an  annual  run  at  grass.     Kot  only  does  the 


THE  HORSE  135 

change  to  their  natural  diet  have  a  good  action  on 
the  digestive  organs,  but  their  feet  also  benefit. 
The  temporary  loss  of  "hard"  condition  is  of 
small  consequence  when  compared  with  the  gain 
in  health  which  results.  Every  horse-owner  is 
not,  however,  in  a  position  to  be  able  to  throw  liis 
animals  out  of  work  while  they  indulge  in  a 
well-earned  holiday,  and  to  these  it  is  suggested 
that  they  should  turn  their  horses  out  at  night 
all  thi^ough  the  summer,  giving  then*  usual  corn 
ration  but  no  hay  during  the  day,  and  working 
them  as  usual.  By  this  method  no  loss  of  condi- 
tion will  ensue,  and  the  horses  will  be  found  to 
work  as  well  as  when  kept  entirely  stabled.  The 
change  should  be  made  gradually,  and  the  animals 
turned  out  for  an  hour  or  two  at  first  only.  Also 
before  bringing  them  in  for  the  Avinter  their  hay 
ration  should  be  begun,  and  daily  increased  for  a 
week  or  two  before  bringing  them  in  altogether. 
Horses  may  run  out  at  night  from  about  the  first 
week  in  May  until  well  on  into  September. 

It  is  not  advised,  under  any  circumstances,  to 
turn  horses  out  during  the  daytime  in  summer  as 
is  so  often  done  by  the  inconsiderate  owner,  unless 
the  animal  has  its  natural  mane  and  tail.  The 
cruelty  of  turning  out  a  docked  (and  hogged)  horse 


136  THE  HORSE 

in  the  daytime  cannot  be  too  strongly  condemned, 
for  when  de^Drived  of  his  only  protections  his  exist- 
ence is  merely  one  of  misery  and  irritation.  The 
torment  to  which  he  is  subjected  by  the  myriads 
of  flies  deprives  him  of  all  peace,  and  he  is  unable 
to  feed  or  rest.  Under  these  conditions  the  prac- 
tice is  simple  cruelty.  Tlie  same  mutilated  horse 
can  spend  the  night  in  comparative  comfort,  and 
will  gain  the  full  benefit  from  the  changed  condi- 
tions of  his  existence  if  taken  indoors  not  later 
than  eight  o'clock  every  mornmg.  If  a  horse  has 
a  long  mane,  tail,  and  forelock,  there  is  less  ob- 
jection to  leaving  him  out  all  day,  though  he  will 
spend  all  his  time  in  some  shady  corner  and  will 
not  get  much  food  or  rest. 

Watering 
Much  diversity  of  opinion  exists  as  to  the  best 
methods  of  watering  horses.  In  a  natm^al  state 
the  wild  Equid^  drink  only  once  or  at  most  twice 
a  day,  consequently  we  might  be  tempted  to  pre- 
sume that  our  horses  are  not  thirsty  animals.  We 
must  remember,  however,  that  we  feed  our  stabled 
animals  on  food  which  is  entirely  lacking  in  juici- 
ness and  natural  moisture,  and  that  therefore  they 
are  obliged  to  acquire  this  necessary  moisture  by 


THE  HORSE  137 

drinking  a  great  deal  more  water,  and  by  taking 
it  oftener,  than  they  would  need  to  if  fed  on 
naturally  juicy  food.  The  horse's  intestines  are  so 
formed  that  they  can  drink  a  large  quantity  of 
water  at  a  time,  so  that  the  common  practice  of 
watering  a  horse  three  or  four  times  a  day  is 
founded  on  the  natural  capacity  of  the  animal.  It 
is  better,  however,  to  ahvays  stand  a  bucket  of 
water  in  the  stall  or  box,  so  that  the  horse  may 
take  it  when  he  likes  and  in  what  quantities  he 
fancies.  Furthermore,  horses  when  eating  dry  hay, 
etc.,  will  be  seen  to  constantly  take  a  mouthful  of 
water  wherewith  to  moisten  it  if  a  bucketful  is 
within  reach.  Under  these  circumstances  the 
bucket  should  be  refilled  each  time  the  horse  is 
fed,  and  it  is  strongly  urged  that  every  horse- 
owner  adopt  this  method,  and  keep  water  always 
within  reach  of  his  animals.  Some  people  have 
protested  against  standing  a  bucket  in  the  corner  of 
a  loose  box  on  the  score  of  possible  injury  to  the 
horse  by  getting  his  foot  into  it ;  but  no  accident 
from  such  a  cause  has  ever  been  reported.  If  the 
manger  is  unsuitable  to  stand  a  bucket  in,  the  lat- 
ter could  no  doubt  be  dropped  into  an  iron  support 
attached  at  a  convenient  height  to  the  w^all. 
Horses  should  always  be  vratered  before  they 


138  THE  HORSE 

are  fed,  as  water  given  in  any  quantities  after  food 
is  liable  to  cause  colic. 

There  is  no  objection  to  allowing  a  horse  to 
drink  a  bucketful  of  cold  vrater  immediately  he 
comes  in  heated  from  work.  If  he  is  much  ex- 
hausted, however,  or  if  he  has  had  time  to  partially 
cool,  the  cold  water  should  be  withheld,  as  it  may 
lower  the  whole  temperature  of  the  body,  and 
cause  chill.  In  such  cases  a  little  tepid  water,  or  a 
bucketful  of  warm  gruel,  will  be  beneficial. 

Horses  always  prefer  soft  water  to  hard ;  spring 
water  to  well  water.  Rain  water  collected  in 
tanks  is  not  wholesome,  as  it  is  generally  fuU  of  a 
quantity  of  decomposing  matter.  Obviously,  only 
the  cleanest,  purest  water,  such  as  would  be  drunk 
in  the  house,  is  iit  for  horses.  Many  fallacies 
exist  with  regard  to  the  most  suitable  water,  and 
there  is  an  example  of  a  coachman  who  habitually 
gave  his  horses  soapy  water  to  drink,  with  the  idea 
that  it  was  better  for  them  than  the  clean,  pure 
liquid.  In  o  one  can  go  wrong  if  they  give  the  best 
and  purest  water,  and  plenty  of  it.  A  horse  will 
drink  from  five  to  eight  gallons  a  day,  and  it  has 
been  found  that  the  animal  will  drink  a  much 
gi^eater  quantity  when  watered  than  he  wiU  if  he 
always  has  access  to  it,     Naturally  a  horse  should 


THE  HORSE  139 

never  be  watered  immediately  before  going  out  to 
work.  All  these  small  rules  require  attention  if 
the  method  of  watering  is  persisted  in. 

Salt 
A  lump  of  rock-salt  should  have  a  place  in  every 


CHAPTER  YIII 
The  Care  of  the  Feet 

It  is  necessary  to  pay  great  attention  to  the  feet 
and  legs  of  a  horse,  as  there  is  no  truer  saying 
than  "  No  foot,  no  horse."  Blacksmiths  are  not 
always  infallible,  and  it  is  advisable  to  know  what 
ought  and  ought  not  to  be  done  when  one's  animal 
pays  its  periodical  visits  to  the  smithy.  The  first 
essential  is  to  preserve  the  foot  in  a  sound  and 
healthy  state,  and  if  this  is  done,  almost  any  kind 
of  shoe  will  be  found  to  answer  fairly  Avell. 

The  foot  consists  of  an  outer  wall  or  crust ;  the 
bars,  which  are  a  reduplication  inward  of  the  crust 
at  the  heels  ;  the  sole,  which  is  the  flat  or  rather 
concave  surface ;  and  the  frog,  an  elastic  pad 
placed  on  the  back  of  the  foot.  The  crust  is  the 
equivalent  of  our  finger  nail,  and  consists  of  a 
number  of  fibres  running  longitudinally  from  the 
coronet.  This  crust  should  never  be  rasped.  To 
give  a  neater  appearance  to  the  shoe  and  to  make 
the  hoof  fit  it,  the  average  blacksmith  generally 
140 


THE  HORSE  141 

runs  his  rasp  over  the  crust,  and  in  so  doing 
destroys  the  strongest  fibres,  leading  eventually  to 
disease,  inflammation,  and  other  evils.  A  good 
blacksmith  will  make  his  shoe  to  fit  the  horse, 
and  no  worlanan  should  be  tolerated  who  cannot 
do  this. 

In  consequence  of  the  protection  afforded  by 
the  shoes,  the  crust  will  requke  to  be  pared  down 
each  month  by  removing  with  a  knife  the  ground 
surface.  The  heels  should  be  kept  sufficiently  low 
to  allow  of  the  frog  touching  the  ground,  as  the 
frog  is  used  by  the  horse  in  a  state  of  nature  to 
get  a  grip  with,  and  obviate  concussion  and  slip- 
ping. Nothing  is  worse  than  to  see  a  horse  raised 
up  on  his  shoes,  with  a  cavity  between  his  frog 
and  the  ground. 

The  bars  are  provided  by  nature  as  a  preventa- 
tive (by  acting  as  a  stay)  against  contraction,  and 
if  left  alone  they  answer  their  purpose  very  well. 
Blacksmiths  are  very  fond,  however,  of  cutting 
them  out,  with  the  result  that  horses  so  treated 
will  suffer  from  contracted  feet  and  corns.  Most 
of  the  cases  of  bad  corns  and  quittor  can  be  traced 
to  this  cause,  and  the  only  way  to  effect  a  cure  is 
to  shoe  the  horse  with  tips,  so  as  to  cause  again, 
by  use  and  pressure,  the  development  of  the  bars, 


U2  THE  HORSE 

The  sole,  again,  needs  only  to  be  left  alone,  and 
should  on  no  account  be  pared  or  interfered  with. 

The  frog,  like  the  sole,  exfoliates  in  flakes,  and 
therefore  also  needs  no  paring.  Curiously  enough, 
without  pressure  and  friction  the  frog  will  shiivel 
and  almost  cease  to  exist,  and  it  can  only  be  kept  in 
a  healthy  state  by  allowing  it  to  touch  the  ground, 
as  mentioned  above.  If  the  frog  is  abeady  in  an 
unhealthy  condition,  and  is  the  seat  of  thrush,  it 
may  be  necessary  to  trim  off  ragged  ends ;  but 
this  should  be  no  excuse  for  paring  it  down. 

Horses  should,  as  a  rule,  be  shod  once  a  month 
with  new  shoes.  If  theu'  work  is  of  a  light  nature 
and  mostly  slow,  or  on  soft  ground,  it  will  not  be 
necessary  to  renew  the  shoes  more  than  once  in 
six  or  eight  weeks  ;  but  under  these  circumstances 
the  shoes  should  be  removed  at  the  end  of  three 
or  four  weeks,  in  order  that  the  crust  may  be 
pared  and  the  shoe  shaped  before  being  reapplied. 
A  better  method  still  is  to  have  new,  thin  shoes 
(as  thin  as  is  compatible  with  the  amount  of  wear 
required)  every  month  ;  but  it  is  more  costly  than 
the  former  method.  Tips  requii^e  removing  every 
fortnight ;  but  in  spite  of  this  drawback  their  use 
is  much  to  be  recommended,  as  there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  foot  will  be  kept  in  a  sounder,  healthier 


THE  HORSE  143 

condition,  and  will  grow  much  stronger  than  it 
will  with  ordinary  shoes.  Ko  fear  need  be  en- 
tertained that  the  frog  or  crust  will  wear  out. 

On  the  return  of  the  horse  from  the  smithy, 
observe  (1)  that  there  is  no  mark  of  rasp  on  the 
hoofs,  and  that  they  are  not  blacked  or  oiled  to 
hide  the  signs  of  rasping ;  (2)  that  the  sole  has  not 
been  Spared  out;  (3j  that  the  frog  has  not  been 
pared  out  unless  it  is  unhealthy  and  ragged ;  (4) 
that  the  clinches  have  not  been  rasped  after  being 
turned  down ;  (5)  that  the  shoe  does  not  project 
beyond  the  wall  of  the  hoof ;  (6)  that  the  bars 
have  not  been  cut.  Some  blacksmiths  make  it  a 
practice  to  run  a  little  tar  into  the  cleft  of  the 
frog:  this  plan  is  a  good  one  where  there  is  a 
tendency  to  thrush,  and  under  any  cu'cumstances 
can  do  no  harm. 


CHAPTER  IX 

Cost  of  Keeping  a  Horse 

As  a  number  of  people  are  deterred  from  keep- 
ing a  horse  because  of  their  uncertainty  of  the 
expense  to  which  such  a  luxury  will  put  them ; 
and  as  an  equal  number  embark  upon  horse-keep- 
ing and  eventually  find,  to  their  sorrow,  that  the 
expenditure  is  gi^eater  than  they  anticipated  ;  as 
also  a  good  deal  of  ignorance  is  constantly  dis- 
played (and  consequently  taken  advantage  of) 
about  the  fair  and  proper  prices  of  stable 
accessories  ;  a  chapter  devoted  to  prices  may  be 
useful  to  the  novice,  and  ma}^  save  liim  from  hav- 
ing to  learn  these  matters  in  the  most  expensive 
of  schools,  experience.  The  prices  we  give  are, 
of  course,  only  approximate.  Prices  vary  in  every 
part  of  the  country,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  do 
more  than  suggest  a  fair  average  price  for  the 
best  quality  of  article.  If  the  prices  paid  by  the 
reader  are  less  than  we  name,  he  should  be  sus- 
picious of  the  quality  of  the  goods  he  is  buying. 
It  always  pays  to  buy  the  best  of  everything  ;  and 
it  must  be  remembered  that,  as  a  rule,  the  best 
144 


THE  HORSE  145 

costs  more  to  produce  than  the  inferior,  therefore 
it  is  impossible  to  buy  "  best  quality  "  at  second 
best  prices. 

Stable  Utensils 
We  Tvill  first  see  what  amount  of  capital  will 
need  to  be  invested  in  the  minimum  number  of 
stable  utensils  and  appliances  for  one  horse  : 

1  head  collar, $2.50 

1  tie  rope  with  spring  hook,       .         .         .         .25 

1  shovel, 75 

Ifork, 75 

1  broom, .50 

^  doz.  dusters, 50 

1  hoof  pick, 25 

1  currycomb, 40 

1  mane  comb, 35 

2  pails, 1.50 

1  corn  measure, 50 

1  sieve, 50 

1  dandy  brush, 75 

1  body  brush, 1.50 

1  4-bushel  corn-bin, 4.00 

$15.00 

To  these  may  be  added  —  — 

1  kersey  horse-cloth,           .         .        .        .  $7.00 

1  roller, 1.00 

1  jute  night-cloth  with  surcingle,       .        .  2  50 

1  clipping  machine, 2.00 

Sundry  brushes,  metal  polish,  soaps,  etc., 

for  cleaning  harness,   ....  2.50 

$15.00 


146  THE  HORSE 

If  two  horses  are  kept,  the  above  total  of  $30.00 
must  be  augmented  by  another  SIO.OO  for  extras, 
blankets,  etc.  The  great  additional  expense  of 
artificially  removing  a  horse's  coat  will  at  once  be 
seen,  and  it  is  for  the  individual  owner  to  make  up 
his  mind  whether  the  amount  of  work  his  horse 
has  to  perform  warrants  this.  Naturally,  cloths 
for  ponies  ^\ill  be  slightly  cheaper.  Of  course  it 
is  not  necessary  to  use  a  kersey  cloth,  and  the  jute 
cloth  can  be  made  to  serve  the  double  purpose ; 
but  a  change  of  clothing  is  healthier  for  the  ani- 
mal, so  that  the  cloth  not  in  use  can  get  a  daily 
airing.  A  slight  saving  in  expense  may  be  made 
by  the  purchase  of  a  second-hand  cloth.  Such  are 
always  procurable  at  some  of  the  dealers  in  any 
large  citj^ ;  but  it  may  be  remarked  that  the  danger 
of  the  contraction  of  some  skin  or  other  disease 
from  a  second-hand  cloth  is.  a  very  real  one,  and  it 
is  strongly  advised  that  the  clothing  should  be  sub- 
jected to  thorough  disinfection  before  being  used. 

EODDEE   AND    LiTTEE 

Good  hay  varies  in  price  according  to  season, 
quality,  neighborhood,  demand,  etc.,  but  as  a  rule, 
under  ordinary  conditions  the  best  quality  cannot 
be   bought  for  less  than  120.00  per  ton.     As  a 


THE  HORSE  147 

horse  will  consume  not  less  than  twelve  pounds 
per  diem,  at  this  rate  of  consumption  a  ton  of  hay- 
will  last  one  horse  about  170  days,  or,  roughly 
speaking,  six  months. 

Oats  will  average  from  sixty  to  seventy  cents  per 
bushel.  Taking  the  larger  price  as  the  one  most 
likely  to  be  paid  for  a  good  quality  of  grain,  we  shall 
find  that  with  a  consumption  of  ten  pounds  per  diem 
a  sack  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds  will  last 
sixteen  days,  and  as  we  must  allow  for  an  extra 
feed  or  two  and  for  slight  w^aste,  we  find  that  a 
fair  allowance  for  a  horse  is  two  sacks  per  month. 
Bran  we  will  leave  out  of  the  question,  as  if  it 
is  occasionally  used  the  oats  will  be  proportionately 
saved. 

Straw  will  cost  on  an  average  twelve  cents  per 
bundle,  and  two  bundles  a  week  will  be  required 
to  make  a  horse  a  good  bed. 

We  therefore  find  that  the  annual  cost  of  food 
and  litter  for  one  horse  works  out  to  a  sum,  roughly, 
of— 

Hay,  2  tons,  at  S20.00  per  ton, $40.00 

Oatfl,  100  bus.  at  70o., 70.00 

Straw,  104  bundles,  at  12c.  each,       ....      12.50 

$122.50 

or  about  §2.35  per  week. 


us  THE  HORSE 

The  lowest  estimate  of  cost  of  keep  of  a  small 
pony  which  consumes,  say,  about  ten  pounds  of 
hay  daily  would  be,  roughly,  seventy-five  cents 
per  week,  and  straw  fifteen  cents  in  addition,  giv- 
ing an  annual  total  of  845.00  in  round  figures. 

As  the  foregoing  table  proves,  oats  are  the  ex- 
pensive item  in  the  horse's  menu,  the  daily  reduc- 
tion of  every  two  and  a  half  pounds  (or  quarter-peck 
measui-e)  will  mean  an  annual  saving  of  $15.00 
on  the  total  bill. 

To  this  sum  has  to  be  added  the  shoeing  bill. 
Two  and  a  half  dollars  is  the  usual  price  charged 
by  good  reliable  blacksmiths  and  shoes  should  be 
renewed  at  least  every  month,  making  an  annual 
cost  of  $30.00.  Sometimes  the  shoes  will  not  be 
worn  out  in  a  month  and  will  only  requu^e  remov- 
ing, in  which  case  there  will  be  a  saving  in  the 
shoe  bill.  The  horse-owner  must  also  allow  an 
annual  sum  for  replacing  worn-out  accessories, 
buying  harness  paste,  mending  harness,  etc.  Such 
incidental  expenses  as  veterinar}^  bills  we  do  not 
take  into  consideration,  because  if  the  horse  is  fed 
on  the  best  of  food,  is  sensibly  treated,  and  is  care- 
fully chosen  in  the  first  instance,  it  should  remain 
healthy  and  sound  for  a  great  number  of  years. 
The  total  estimate  for  entu'e  keep  of  one  horse  on 


THE  HORSE  149 

a  generous  scale  amounts  approximately  to  $150.00 
per  annum. 

The  keep  of  cart  horses  can  be  made  to  come  to 
considerably  less.  As  they  are  not  required  to  do 
fast  work,  they  will  thrive  on  a  mixed  ration  such 
as  would  be  quite  unsuitable  for  hunters  and  har- 
ness horses,  and  they  can  in  consequence  be  kept 
for  from  $2.00  to  §2.50  per  week.  The  shoes  of 
farm  horses,  instead  of  being  steel,  are  often  made 
of  iron,  and  it  is  usual  for  farmers  to  contract  vrith 
the  village  blacksmith  to  keep  their  horses  shod 
for  a  fixed  annual  sum. 

We  have  hitherto  left  out  of  consideration  the 
fact  that  the  horse-owner  may  be  able  to  run  his 
animals  at  night  all  through  the  summer  in  a  pad- 
dock. The  hay  saved  will  probably  be  swallowed 
up  in  rent  of  land,  so  that  the  only  profit  will  be 
the  indirect  one  of  increased  health  and  longer 
working  capacity  of  the  horses.  If  the  land  is 
cheap  its  quality  will  be  bad,  and  consequently  a 
greater  acreage  will  be  required  to  run  the  horses 
on.  We  have  also  omitted  to  add  groom's  wages, 
and  the  prospective  owner  must  not  forget  this 
item,  nor  the  additional  capital  which  has  to  be 
expended  on  horse,  carriage,  and  harness,  etc.,  when 
going  into  the  matter  of  the  cost  of  a  turnout. 


CHAPTEE  X 
Hints  on  Breaking  and  Driving 

There  is  a  fascination  for  some  people  in  the 
idea  of  buying  or  breeding  young  horses,  breaking 
them  in,  and  selling  them  when  they  have  "  grown 
into  money."  That  they  more  often  grow  into 
some  unsoundness  has  nothing  to  do  with  our 
present  aspect  of  the  case,  and  the  true  gambler  in 
immature  horse-flesh  is  not  usually  deterred  from 
his  speculative  amusement  by  one  or  two  pieces  of 
what  he  calls  "  bad  luck."  It  is  obviously  impos- 
sible, within  the  limits  of  the  present  handbook, 
to  do  more  than  touch  upon  the  outlines  of  a  mat- 
ter which  has  been  the  subject  of  many  volumes. 
Therefore  a  few  hints  on  the  most  important  points 
in  connection  with  the  breaking  to  harness  and 
driving  of  horses,  for  the  benefit  of  the  amateur 
who  has  hitherto  had  little  experience  in  these 
matters  are  all  that  it  is  possible  to  embody  in  the 
present  article. 

Tackle 

The  indispensable  equipment  which  is  required 
150 


THE  HORSE  161 

is  a  strong  set  of  harness,  a  head-stall,  a  surcingle, 
and  a  large  stock  of  patience.  The  quality  of  the 
last  is  probably  the  most  important,  because 
although  horses  of  a  certain  disposition  may  be 
hurriedly  broken  in  with  success,  yet  the  colt  with 
pluck  and  spirit,  which  will  eventually  make  the 
most  pleasant  harness  horse,  requires  dealing  de- 
liberately with.  Also,  the  more  gradually  each 
lesson  is  instilled,  the  more  permanent  will  be  the 
impression.  Some  people  seem  to  thinli  that  by 
some  wonderful  and  unexplainable  hereditary 
process,  a  horse  is  born  more  or  less  broken  in. 
Obviously,  unbreakable  and  vicious  animals  have 
in  course  of  ages  been  weeded  out,  and  a  naturally 
tractable  stock  hands  on  its  nature  to  subsequent 
generations ;  but  it  is  the  disposition  only  which  is 
passed  on,  nothing  more  tangible  is  acquired  ;  and 
every  colt  has  to  be  as  carefully  taught  what  is 
requu^ed  of  him  in  his  service  to  man  as  his  mother 
was  before  hun. 

Horses  are  by  nature  good  tempered;  some, 
however,  are  much  more  nervous  and  high  spirited 
than  others,  and  if  roughly  handled  are  extremely 
liable  to  resent  bad  treatment  by  a  display  of 
their  powers  of  self-defense,  which  we  call  bad 
temper.     These    are  the  horses  which  try  the 


152  THE  HORSE 

breaker's  skill  and  patience,  and  are  so  often 
returned  as  spoilt  from  the  hands  of  the  profes- 
sional. The  breaker  cannot  spend  too  much  time 
over  the  education  of  a  nervous  horse,  and  as  such 
subjects  are  usually  of  good  breeding  and  quality, 
the  time  spent  wiU  be  vrell  repaid  later  on  when 
seUing  time  comes. 

Food 
The  first  pouit  to  be  taken  into  consideration  is 
the  feeding  of  the  colt.  Possibly  more  depends 
on  this,  particularly  when  breaking  ponies,  than 
might  at  first  sight  be  supposed.  A  colt  is  not 
going  to  be  worked,  he  is  merely  going  to  be 
broken  in,  and  a  diet  wliich  would  be  quite  unfit 
for  him  under  the  first  conditions  wiU  suit  him 
admu'ably  during  his  educational  course.  Corn 
should  be  absolutely  withheld,  and  the  diet  re- 
stricted to  hay  ad  lih.,  or,  preferably,  grass  picked 
up  in  a  small  paddock.  The  more  sluggish  the  colt 
is  at  this  time,  in  reason,  the  more  quickly  will  he 
accept  the  ne^v  instruction  and  adapt  himself  to 
new  conditions.  Therefore  it  is  perfectly  legiti- 
mate, indeed  it  is  of  important  assistance,  to  keep 
the  colt  in  an  obese  and  phlegmatic  state  by  a 
grass    dietary — which  must  not  be  confounded 


THE  HORSE  153 

with  a  low  and  weak  condition,  w^hich  is  an 
entirely  different  thing,  and  not  to  be  recom- 
mended, on  account  of  the  various  troubles  it  may 
indirectly  bring  in  its  train. 

Catching 

If  a  colt  will  not  come  to  hand  in  the  paddock, 
he  will  have  to  be  driven  into  a  shed  or  stable  and 
there  captured.  It  will  save  time  if  he  is  ac- 
customed to  come  to  a  quarter-peck  measure  with 
some  corn  in  it.  Then,  if  he  is  without  a  head- 
stall, he  can  be  captured  with  a  halter  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner :  Pull  out  the  running  nose-band, 
and  slip  it  round  the  quarter-peck  measure,  keep- 
ing the  head  piece  of  the  halter  to  the  outer  side  of 
the  measure.  As  the  horse  feeds  with  his  nose  in 
the  measure,  the  nose-band  can  be  almost  imper- 
ceptibly slipped  up  the  measure  and  round  his 
nose,  while  the  head  piece  is  passed  quietly  over  his 
ears. 

When  endeavoring  to  catch  or  drive  in  a  horse, 
never  run.  If  the  animal  breaks  back,  do  not,  by 
violent  gesticulations,  endeavor  to  stop  him,  or 
run  and  try  to  cut  him  off.  If  you  rim,  so  will  the 
horse ;  and  as  he  can  run  the  fastest,  he  will  get 
the  best  of  it,  and  will,  furthermore,  enjoy  the 


164  THE  HORSE 

excitement.  Walk  slowly  after  him,  and  grad- 
ually ^vork  him  in  the  desired  direction,  and  in  the 
end  you  will  get  him  to  do  what  you  want.  It 
may  take  time,  but  not  half  so  long  as  it  will  if  he 
is  upset  and  frightened  or  excited. 

If  a  halter  must  be  used  to  break  in  instead  of 
a  head -stall,  do  not  forget  to  knot  the  slip  rope,  to 
prevent,  as  far  as  possible,  squeezing  and  chafing 
the  jaws. 

Teaching  to  Lead 

The  next  point  is  to  teach  the  horse  to  lead.  In 
this  connection,  and,  indeed,  throughout  the  pre- 
liminary handling,  much  more  rapid  and  success- 
ful progress  will  be  made  if  the  breaker  makes  up 
his  mind  to  work  single-handed  and  to  have  no 
spectators.  Xo  animal  is  more  suspicious  than  a 
young  horse — suspicious  of  every  object  and  every 
movement.  Thus  his  whole  time  is  spent  in 
closely  watching  the  actions  of  those  around  him, 
and  this  very  peculiarity  of  his  is  of  the  greatest 
value  to  the  horse-breaker.  It  is  essential  that  he 
should  follow  every  movement,  and  learn  to 
connect  each  with  its  proper  function  in  connection 
with  himself,  because  only  in  this  way  does  he 
assimilate  and  profit  by  the  lessons  taught  him. 


THE  HORSE  155 

Now,  if  two  or  three  persons  are  present,  the  colt 
gets  confused  with  trying  to  keep  an  eye  on  all 
of  them  at  once,  gets  terribly  nervous,  hardly 
realizes  what  is  being  done  to  him,  and  much 
valuable  time  and  energy  of  both  horse  and 
breaker  are  wasted.  This  has  been  proved  time 
after  tune.  In  the  case  of  a  terribly  nervous  and 
wild  little  hill  pony  brood  mare  of  nine  years  old 
which  was  being  broken,  she  could  be  caught, 
bridle,  surcingle,  and  crupper  ailixed  in  about  five 
minutes,  alone ;  but  the  presence  of  an  assistant 
rendered  it  impossible  to  do  these  things  at  all 
except  by  sheer  force  and  after  a  prolonged 
struggle. 

The  first  step  in  the  actual  breaking,  then,  is  to 
affix  the  head-stall  with  a  fom^-foot  rope  attached 
to  its  back  dee,  and  by  pulling  the  horse's  head 
round  to  one  side  to  upset  his  equilibrium  and  get 
him  to  move.  Xever  stand  m  front  of  a  horse 
and  endeavor  to  drag  him  forward.  For  one 
thing,  it  is  impossible  to  succeed  in  making  him 
budge  an  inch  by  this  means  if  he  does  not  "^vish 
to,  as  he  is  perfectly  stable  in  this  position,  and  is 
heavier  than  his  breaker.  If  you  stand  close  to 
the  shoulder,  hovv^ever,  and  pull  or  push  the  head 
round  gently,  the  horse  is  bound  to  move  a  fore- 


156  THE  HOHSE 

foot.  Then  he  can  be  judiciously  made  to  move 
again  in  a  more  or  less  circular  direction,  until  he 
suddenly  seems  to  understand  what  is  wanted,  and 
leads  freely. 

MOUTHIXG 

The  next  lesson  is  to  mouth  the  colt  with  a  bit 
affixed  to  the  side  dees  of  the  head-stall.  Here  a 
surcingle,  and  the  crupper  off  the  set  of  harness, 
will  be  requu'ed,  and  a  rope  or  rein  passed  from 
the  bit  thi'ough  the  back  loop  of  the  crupper, 
which  is  kept  in  place  by  the  surcingle.  It  may 
incidentally  be  mentioned  that  a  horse  cannot  kick 
the  operator  when  putting  on  the  crupper  if  the 
latter  is  careful  to  stand  just  behind  the  shoulder 
and  close  to  the  horse,  remembermg  to  keep  the 
animal's  head  pulled  round  slightly  toward  him. 

The  horse  should  be  reined  up  just  sufficiently 
tightly  for  the  head  to  be  held  in  its  best  natural 
position.  The  object  is  to  connect  in  the  mind  of 
the  animal  the  fact  of  the  bit  being  placed  in  the 
mouth  necessitating  the  best  natural  carriage  of  the 
head.  If  the  horse  has  a  badly-formed  neck,  how- 
ever, no  amount  of  reining-up  can  permanently  im- 
prove it. 

Great  care  should  be  taken  not  to  rein  up  so 


THE  HORSE  157 

tightly  as  to  cause  the  corners  of  the  mouth  to  be- 
come sore,  as  is  so  often  clone.  Theu^  sensitiveness, 
upon  which  the  future  "  mouth  "  so  much  depends, 
is  impaired  if  they  have  been  cut  and  raw  at  this 
stage  of  breaking.  Having  got  thus  far,  be  con- 
tent to  lead  the  horse  about  (by  a  rope  attached 
to  the  back  dee  of  the  head-stall,  and  not  attached 
to  the  bit  or  side  dees)  for  some  days,  taking  him 
into  traffic,  introducing  him  to  persons  and  motor 
cars,  and  otherwise  endeavoring  to  accustom  him 
to  the  many  things  he  will  have  to  be  intimately 
acquainted  with  before  his  education  is  complete. 
Lead  alternately  from  the  off  as  well  as  the  near 
side,  as,  if  every  operation  is  performed  from  the 
near  side,  it  will  be  found  one  day,  when  urgent 
necessity  compels  an  off-side  approach,  that  the 
horse  resents  that  to  which  he  has  not  been  ac- 
customed. Also,  it  may  be  hardly  necessary  to 
mention,  when  leading  from  the  near  side,  keep  to 
the  right  side  of  the  road  when  passing  vehicles, 
and  vice  versa^  as  only  thus  can  a  horse  be  con- 
trolled and  prevented  from  suddenly  turning  his 
quarters  across  the  roadway. 

Teaching  to  Guide 
Difficult  horses,  or  ones  which  are  to  be  very 


158  THE  HORSE 

highly  educated,  should  next  go  through  a  course 
of  long  rein  driving  to  mouth  and  supple  them. 
This  consists  essentially  in  diiving  them  round 
and  round  in  a  large  circle  by  means  of  a  pair  of 
long  reins  (two  pau-s  of  driving  reins  will  do)  at- 
tached to  the  bit.  One  rein  passes  over  the  back 
or  round  the  quarters  of  the  horse,  and  the  other 
passes  direct  from  mouth  to  hand,  the  superfluous 
rein  being  gathered  up  in  loops  ready  to  let  out  as 
requu'ed.  The  horse  must  be  taught  to  circle  in 
either  direction,  to  turn  about  in  the  figure  8, 
and  perform  either  at  the  v^^alk,  trot,  or  canter. 
As  success  depends  almost  as  much  upon  the  skill 
of  the  operator  as  upon  the  tractability  of  the  horse, 
and  as  a  paddock  or  large  yard  is  necessary  for  the 
evolutions,  we  will  not  dwell  on  the  system,  ex- 
cellent though  it  is,  but  will  refer  the  reader  to 
special  works  which  treat  of  the  matter  in  detail. 
The  whole  system  is  far  superior  to  lunging  with 
one  rein  only,  which  has  not  the  same  effect,  and 
which  must  not  be  confused  with  long  rein  driv- 
ing.    (See  Fig.  28.) 

The  breaker  has  now  reached  the  stage  when  he 
has  to  teach  the  horse  to  understand  and  obey 
certain  signals  given  with  the  rein.  A  good 
mouth,  as  understood  by  drivers,   may   be  ana- 


THE  HORSE  159 

lyzed  as  the  promptness,  accuracy,  and  precision 
with  which  the  animal  obeys  the  signals  given 
him.  This,  again,  depends  partly  upon  the  sensi- 
tiveness of  his  mouth,  and  partly  upon  the  way  in 
which  he  is  taught  the  meaning  of  certain  signs. 
Now,  no  one  is  more  helpless  than  the  man  who  is 
walking  behind  a  horse  and  driving  it  in  front  of 
him  with  reins.     If  the  smallest  pony  chooses  to 


Fig.  28. 

Showing  Horse  bitted  up  ready  to  lead  ;  also  showing  Position  of  Reins 
iu  Long  Rein  Driving. 

bolt  under  these  circumstances,  it  can  hardly  be 
prevented,  and  the  driver  usuall}^  ends  by  ignomin- 
iously  letting  go  the  reins  and  sitting  down  rather 
suddenly  in  the  road.  Having  harnessed  the 
horse  fully,  except,  perhaps,  for  the  hames  and 
traces,  and  having  passed  the  breeching  straps 


160  THE  HORSE 

through  the  tugs  and  strapped  them,  and  fastened 
up  the  belly-band,  put  on  two  rems,  one  fastened 
to  each  side  of  the  bit,  being  careful  to  leave  the 
ends  which  pass  to  the  hands  separate.  There  are 
several  reasons  for  this.  First  of  all,  the  longer 
the  reins,  the  greater  the  control  of  the  man  over 
the  horse ;  secondly,  if  things  do  not  go  smoothly, 
the  horse  can  be  pulled  round  by  one  rein  and 
stopped ;  thhdly,  the  danger  of  the  man  getting 
tripped  up  in  the  loop  of  the  rein  is  done  away 
with. 

Some  instinct  of  the  horse  leads  it  naturally  to 
pull  against  the  indication  of  the  rein.  Thus,  if 
the  left  rein  is  pulled,  the  untrained  horse  always 
endeavors  to  bear  to  the  right,  and  vice  versa.  To 
counteract  this,  a  slight,  sharp  flick  with  a  long 
wliip  must  be  given  to  the  left  side  of  the  animal 
when  the  right  rein  is  pulled,  and  so  on,  the  pull 
and  flick  being  simultaneous,  and  graduated  to  the 
degree  of  turn  required.  It  is  wonderful  how 
quickly  the  colt  learns  to  obey  the  indication  of 
the  rein  alone,  its  promptness  being  in  exact  ratio 
to  the  precision  with  which  the  double  indication 
is  given  in  the  first  instance.  Once  the  horse  has 
learned  the  meaning  of  the  various  pulls  on  its 
mouth — left   rein,  turn  to   the  left;  both   reins, 


THE  HORSE  161 

stop  (this  always  accompanied  by  a  decided  verbal 
*'  whoa  !  ") ;  "  click  ! "  go  on,  etc. — he  is  fit  to  put 
into  the  shafts,  provided  he  has  got  used  to  blink- 
ers, in  which  he  is  sure  to  be  a  little  strange  at 
first. 

Putting  Into  a  Cart 

Bad  starting,  than  which  no  more  tiresome  trick 
exists,  is  usually  caused  by  (a)  putting  a  horse  into 
too  heavy  a  cart  at  first;  {h)  starting  it  up-hill;  (c) 
or  driving  it  with  tender  shoulders.  A  very  light, 
empty  cart  should  be  used,  and  not  a  YiQd^xj  one 
loaded  up  with  men,  on  the  supposition  that  the 
heavier  it  is  the  less  possibility  will  there  be  of 
the  colt  running  away  with  it ! 

An  assistant  will  be  required  to  hold  the  shafts 
up  over  the  horse's  back  and  to  help  to  harness 
him.  Everything  should  be  done  without  fuss, 
quietly  and  expeditiously,  as  the  whole  future  be- 
havior of  the  animal  depends  upon  the  first  im- 
pression it  gets  of  harness  work.  A  head-stall  or 
halter  should  be  left  on  under  the  bridle  to  lead 
by,  and  a  rope  should  be  tied  across  the  loins  as  a 
preventative  of  possible  kicking. 

When  everything  is  ready  lead  the  colt  off 
quietly,  a  person  on  each  side  of  its  head  to  pre- 


162  THE  HORSE 

vent  accidents.  In  most  cases,  if  the  preliminary 
lessons  have  been  well  instilled,  the  colt  will  go 
off  well  and  quietly.  For  two  or  three  days  his 
work  should  be  confined  to  a  few  miles  out  and 
back  along  all  classes  and  gradients  of  roads, 
making  a  "  round  "  whenever  possible.  At  length, 
if  all  goes  well,  the  breaker  should  get  into  the 
cart  and  drive  the  colt,  the  attendant  still  leading 
from  one  side.  In  a  day  or  two  both  may  ride, 
and  the  pace  may  be  increased  and  the  journeys 
lengthened. 

SoEE  Shouldees 
A  light  cart,  short  journeys,  and  as  small  an 
amount  of  exertion  as  possible  for  the  colt  have 
been  insisted  on  because  only  thus  can  that  bane 
of  horse-breakers,  sore  shoulders,  be  avoided.  The 
soreness  of  course  starts  as  a  bruise,  which  quickly 
works  into  a  sore  place,  and  will  necessitate  a  total 
stoppage  of  breaking  operations  at  a  time  when  it 
is  most  unportant  that  the  work  should  be  regu- 
larly carried  on ;  and  it  may,  in  addition,  lead  the 
colt  to  acquire  the  habit  of  starting  badly  or  awk- 
wardly. Thus,  at  all  costs,  must  these  catastro- 
phes be  avoided.  If  the  animal  is  confined  at 
first  to  pulling  a  very  light,  empty  cart,  and  is 


THE  HORSE  163 

not  made  to  sweat  excessively,  the  shoulders  will 
gradually  harden  of  themselves,  without  any  dis- 
organization ensuing.  Of  course  we  are  assuming 
that  the  colt  is  provided  with  a  properly -fitting 
collar.  A  straw  collar  is  better  than  a  leather 
one  at  this  stage,  and  if  a  breast  collar  is  used  on 
alternate  days,  bruised  shoulders  may  be  avoided. 
In  any  case,  if  the  neck  becomes  in  the  slightest 
degree  bruised,  stop  all  shaft  work  at  once  until 
it  is  perfectly  well  again.  Also,  daily  from  the 
commencement  of  breaking-in  to  harness,  bathe 
the  neck  under  the  collar  immediately  on  the  re- 
turn from  work,  with  a  saturated  solution  of  alum 
and  water,  which  will  help  to  harden  the  skin. 

Tkicks 
It  must  be  borne  in  mind  throughout  the  break- 
ing that  it  is  a  comparatively  simple  matter  to 
prevent  a  horse  doing  that  which  he  should  not 
do,  but  that  if  he  is  once  allowed  to  develop  a 
trick  or  vice  it  may  take  months  of  trouble  and 
hard  work  to  make  him  forget  it  again. 

Shoeing 
A  visit  to  the  blacksmith  is,  of  course,  part  of 
the  necessary  education  of  every  horse,  and  is  very 


164  THE  HORSE 

often  actually  the  first  point  attended  to  by  the 
amateur  horse-breaker.  We  do  not  hold  Avith  this 
early  shoeing,  and  consider  that,  for  a  variety  of 
reasons,  the  business  is  best  deferred  until  the  colt 
is  so  far  broken  as  to  be  fit  to  drive  regularly. 
Leaving  out  of  the  question  the  undue  fright  ex- 
perienced by  an  almost  unhandled  animal,  and  the 
hoiTor  and  dislike  with  which  in  consequence  it 
may,  in  futm^e,  associate  a  visit  to  the  blacksmith, 
a  young  horse  is  much  more  likely  to  injure  him- 
self, or  do  harm  of  some  sort,  if  he  is  shod. 
Furthermore,  if  the  breaking  process  is  unduly 
prolonged  owing  to  galled  shoulders,  the  ammal 
will  be  as  well  without  shoes  during  his  enforced 
idleness.  The  feet  must,  of  com^se,  be  trimmed 
up,  and  the  edges  of  the  hoofs  rasped  to  prevent  a 
tearing  out  of  ragged  edges,  and  if  this  is  attended 
to,  the  horse  will  be  able  to  do  quite  a  lot  of  work 
on  dry  roads  without  further  attention. 

The  dampness  of  our  clunate  is  one  of  the  chief 
causes  which  make  it  impossible  for  a  horse  to  do 
all  his  work  unshod.  "Water  softens  horn,  and 
causes  it  to  become  much  too  weak  to  stand  fric- 
tion ;  but  in  the  case  of  a  colt  the  work  it  does  (or 
should  do)  during  breaking  is  not  of  a  sufficiently 
arduous  nature  to  be  likely  to  do  harm  to  the  feet, 


THE  HORSE  165 

provided,  of  course,  that  the  animal  has  naturally 
hard  and  Avell-shaped  feet  to  start  with — a  condi- 
tion we  are  taking  for  granted. 

DrIYI]S"G 

The  breakiug-in  of  a  colt  has  been  treated  en- 
tkely  from  the  single  harness  point  of  view,  be- 
cause a  horse  which  will  go  alone  will  always 
work  in  double  harness,  although  the  reverse  is 
not  always  the  case.  Once  broken,  a  horse  has  to 
be  mannered  and  taught  the  thousand  and  one 
little  items,  insignificant  enough  in  themselves, 
which,  in  the  aggregate,  help  to  raise  his  value 
to  that  of  a  high-class  and  expensive  animal. 
Many  people  confuse  quietness  with  sluggishness. 
A  quiet  horse  should  be  full  of  spirit,  free  and 
fast,  but  he  should  have  been  so  perfectly  man- 
nered that  he  never  "plays  up,"  or  shows  the 
exuberance  of  his  spirits  in  an  unorthodox  manner, 
but  is  absolutely  free  from  tricks,  vice,  or  pecuhar- 
ities.  All  this  is  taught  by  the  exercise  of  great 
patience  and  attention  to  detail  when  driving  the 
colt  after  the  rough  breaking-in  is  completed. 
First  of  all,  teach  the  horse  never  to  fidget  or 
move  off  until  the  signal — a  combined  "  click  " 
and  tightening  of  the  rein — is  given.     Teach  him 


166  THE  HORSE 

to  stand  well  and  alertly,  and  not  to  rest  his  legs 
or  go  to  sleep.  Teach  him  to  stop  dead  at  a  de- 
cided "  Whoa  !  "  without  any  additional  signal 
with  the  reins,  as  this  habit  may  prove  most  use- 
ful in  an  emergency  and  always  give  him  his 
signal  in  a  firm,  decided  voice. 

In  driving,  always  go  slowly  off  the  top  of  a 
hill,  and  at  the  summit  pull  the  horse  well  back 
into  the  breeching,  so  as  to  get  his  Aveight  off  the 
forehand.  If  the  animal  is  thoroughly  steadied 
like  this,  and  his  head  is  kept  up  with  a  tight 
rein,  he  can  trot  down  almost  any  hill  with  a 
good  surface  in  safety.  Horses  most  frequently 
fall  on  a  slight  hill  down  which  they  are  being 
driven  with  a  slack  rein.  If  their  Aveight  had 
been  taken  off  the  forehand,  a  false  step  would 
not  have  resulted  in  anything  worse  than  a  slight 
stumble.  Therefore  the  driver  must  be  "  didv- 
ing "  all  the  time,  and  must  not  allow  himself 
or  his  steed  to  be  lulled  into  a  false  sense  of 
security. 

It  is  difficult  to  define  the  exact  tension  at 
which  the  reins  should  be  held.  It  should  vary 
with  the  gradient  of  the  road  and  other  factors ; 
at  the  same  time,  of  the  two  extremes,  a  tight 
rein  is  much  safer  than  a  loose  one,  for  with  it 


THE  HORSE  167 

the  horse  is  aiwiiys  under  control  in  the  case  of  a 
sudden  shy  or  stumble.  With  a  loose  rein  he 
may  fall,  or  shy  right  across  the  road,  before  the 
rein  can  be  brought  to  a  tension  sufficient  to 
steady  him. 

Kever  whip  or  flick  a  horse  going  down-hill  if 
it  can  possibly  be  avoided,  and  never  use  the  whip 
unless  the  reins  are  held  tightly.  One  of  the 
worst  errors  the  amateur  driver  falls  into  is  an 
inability  to  keep  the  vrhip  still.  This  is,  of  course, 
fatal  to  the  freeness  of  a  colt ;  and  we  have  known 
many  old  horses  turned  into  inveterate  plugs  in 
their  old  age  solely  through  this  fault  on  the  part 
of  their  driver.  If  a  horse  is  being  continually 
flicked  and  touched  with  the  whip-lash,  he  will, 
in  a  remarkably  short  time,  have  become  so 
familiarized  with  it  that  he  will  fail  to  respond. 
If  the  whip  must  be  used  to  correct  some  fault  or 
to  stimulate,  it  should  be  used  sharply  and  de- 
cisively— in  other  words,  it  should  not  be  used  at 
all  unless  it  is  absolutely  necessary.  He  will  thus 
always  have  a  wholesome  fear  of  the  weapon,  and 
will  never  develop  into  a  plug.  A  sluggish  horse 
may  often  be  cured  by  a  few  thorough  beatings, 
which  show  him  that  his  driver  intends  to  put  up 
with  no  nonsense.     Therefore,  if  a  diiver  cannot 


168  THE  HORSE 

resist  flicking  his  horse's  back  with  the  whip  in 
and  out  of  season,  then  the  whip  must  be  kept  in 
its  socket,  so  that  he  may  not  be  tempted  to  make 
improper  use  of  it. 

As  a  rule,  it  is  not  advisable  to  whip  a  horse 
for  shying.  If  he  is  really  frightened  the  punish- 
ment will  only  increase  his  fright ;  if  he  shies 
from  high  spirits,  such  bad  manners  must  be  suit- 
ably punished  only  if  it  is  impossible  to  ignore 
them  altogether. 

In  these  days  of  motor  cars  and  other  road 
nuisances,  it  is  especially  necessary  that  only  com- 
petent and  experienced  diivers  should  be  allowed 
on  the  roads.  Very  often  a  horse  shies  at  some 
object  solely  because  of  the  nervousness  of  his 
driver.  By  instinctively  tightening  the  reins,  and 
settling  himself  in  his  seat,  the  driver  conveys  to 
the  horse  that  something  is  about  to  happen.  The 
animal  becomes  agitated  and  nervous  by  the  un- 
usual signs  conveyed  by  the  reins,  looks  about 
expectantly  for  the  supposed  danger,  and  shies  or 
otherwise  displays  his  alarm  at  some  object  which, 
had  the  driver  not  given  him  the  office,  he  would 
probably  have  taken  no  notice  of. 

Always  put  on  the  brake  gradually,  and  in  a 
degree  to  correspond  with  the  steepness  of  the 


THE  HORSE  169 

gradient.  Some  people  put  it  on  hard  at  any  and 
every  hill,  whereas  it  is  more  restful  for  a  horse 
in  a  light  vehicle  to  hold  back  down  slight  in- 
clines. In  any  case,  the  brake  power  should  be 
applied  notch  by  notch  as  the  declivity  increases, 
and  should  be  taken  off  gradually  in  the  same  way 
as  the  bottom  is  approached. 


CHAPTEE  XI 
Common  Ailments 

A  SHORT  chapter  will  be  of  value  on  those 
minor  ailments  of  Tvhich  every  horse-owner  is 
likely  sooner  or  later  to  have  experience,  but  the 
more  obscure  or  serious  diseases  will  be  left  to  the 
attention  of  the  veterinary  surgeon.  The  rem- 
edies given  are  as  simple  as  possible,  as  elaborate 
concoctions  are  often  neither  procurable  at  short 
notice  in  an  emergency  nor  of  any  particular  ad- 
vantage to  any  one  but  the  druggist. 

It  may  be  mentioned  that  the  commonest  causes 
of  diseases  of  the  bowels  and  urinar}"  organs  are 
bad  food  and  water,  hence  in  such  cases  an  entire 
change  of  forage  will  probably  be  necessary.  Dis- 
eases of  the  chest  (coughs,  colds,  etc.)  are  most 
frequently  due  to  bad  ventilation,  exposure,  neg- 
lect ;  diseases  of  the  skin  to  bad  grooming,  bad 
forage,  or  barley  straw  :  diseases  of  the  feet  to 
bad  shoeing  and  neglect ;  and  thrush,  cracked 
heels,  and  grease  to  neglect  and  bad  management. 
170 


THE  HORSE  171 

Abscess 

An  abscess  or  swelling  on  the  face  should  always 
awake  suspicion  of  a  decayed  tooth,  and  if  on  ex- 
amination such  proves  to  be  the  case,  removal  of 
the  tooth  is  the  only  remedy. 

Cataeeh 

Acute  inflammation  of  the  mucous  membrane  of 
the  nose  and  air-passages. 

SyinjJtoms. — Loss  of  appetite,  staring  coat, 
watery  discharge  from  the  nostrils,  followed  by 
swollen  glands  under  throat,  and  perhaps  sore 
throat. 

Causes. — Atmospheric  changes,  such  as  when 
first  bringing  a  young  horse  into  the  stable ;  neg- 
lect ;  bad  management. 

Treatment. — ^Eemoval  to  a  cool  box ;  plenty  of 
clothing ;  flannel  bandages  ;  carrots  or  green  food, 
and  warm  mashes  (laxative  diet).  This  disease,  if 
taken  in  time,  Avill  not  develop  seriously,  and  no 
medicine  is  required.  If,  however,  it  is  neglected 
at  first,  and  the  patient  in  a  few  days  is  worse  in- 
stead of  better,  a  veterinary  surgeon  must  be  called 
in,  as  there  is  always  danger  of  complications,  such 
as  bronchitis,  pneiimonia,  etc. 


172  THE  HORSE 

Ceacked  Heels 

Chaps  of  the  skin:  when  neglected,  run  into 
Grease. 

Symptoms. — Itching  of  the  heels ;  offensive  dis- 
charge from  the  skin ;  tender  cracks ;  general 
swelling  of  the  legs ;  sometimes  lameness  on  first 
going  out. 

Causes. — J^eglect  and  bad  management  leading 
to  deranged  secretion  of  the  skin  in  the  hollow  of 
the  heel.  Though  often  due  to  debility,  may  also 
arise  from  fatness  and  insuiScient  exercise.  Clip- 
ping the  hair  off  back  part  of  the  legs  is  another 
frequent  cause.  Low-bred  horses,  by  reason  of 
their  weaker  circulation,  are  more  prone  to  this 
disease  than  high-bred  animals,  and  it  is  frequently 
present  in  cart  horses  which  are  walked  through 
water  to  clean  their  legs  before  going  into  the 
stable. 

Treatment. — The  most  important  treatment  is 
to  cease  wetting  the  legs.  In  slight  cases  this 
alone  will  effect  a  cure.  In  severer  cases  the 
heels  must  be  washed  daily  with  water  containing 
disinfectant  to  remove  all  dirt  from  the  cracks, 
and  then,  after  being  thoroughly  dried,  they  should 
be  dressed  ^^dth  carbolic  ointment.  A  narrow 
bandage    round   the  pastern  will   afford   protec- 


THE  HORSE  173 

tion    from   dirt  and  cold  until  the  cracks  are 
healed. 

Colic  or  Gripes 

Spasm  of  the  muscular  coat  of  any  portion  of 
the  intestines. 

Symptoms. — Apparent  internal  pain  ;  the  horse 
looks  round  to  his  flanks ;  scrapes  with  forefeet ; 
walks  round  box ;  lies  down  and  rolls,  or  lies  down 
and  gets  up  again  ;  belly  frequently  tense  and 
swollen.  "When  the  attack  is  going  off,  the  inter- 
val of  time  between  the  spasms  becomes  longer. 

Cause. — Indigestion  in  some  form. 

Treatment. — The  horse  must  be  led  about. 
Friction  over  the  abdomen  will  also  give  relief. 
The  patient  must  be  prevented  from  throwing 
himself  down.  If  alternate  friction  and  walking 
exercise  do  not  alleviate,  a  dose  of  a  drachm  and 
a  half  of  camphor  and  an  ounce  of  nitric  ether 
mixed  with  twelve  ounces  of  water  will  probably 
give  relief.  If  at  the  end  of,  say,  six  hours  the 
horse  is  no  better,  skilled  aid  must  be  resorted  to. 

Goran's 
Injury  produced  by  pressure  to  the  angle  be- 
tween the  crust  and  the  bars. 
Symjptoms. — A  reddened  appearance  in  the  angle 


17^  THE  HORSE 

of  the  sole,  and  lameness.  The  horse  will  often 
start  lame,  and  go  perfectly  sound  after  a  mile  or 
two,  and  by  this  symptom  may  a  corn  be  recog- 
nized from  other  diseases  of  the  foot. 

Causes. — Bad  shoeing,  and  particularly  the  cut- 
ting away  of  the  bars  and  the  paring  out  of  the 
seat  of  corn,  whereby  dirt  accumulates  in  the  hol- 
low so  made  and  causes  injury.  There  is  also  a 
predisposition  to  corns  in  fiat  feet  and  feet  with 
wired-in  heels,  because  undue  pressure  is  liable  to 
come  on  the  seat  of  corn. 

Treatment. — If  the  cause — ^pressure — is  removed, 
the  corn  will  be  cm^ed.  A  three-quarter  shoe  will 
do  this  as  a  rule.  Continual  paring  out  will  only 
effect  a  temporary  cure  if  the  pressure  is  not  also 
removed.  Some  horses  suffer  from  corns  only  in 
the  winter  when  in  the  stable,  and  become  per- 
fectly sound  immediately  they  spend  a  portion  of 
their  time  at  grass.  In  such  cases,  the  dryness  of 
the  feet  when  in  the  stable  seems  to  be  in  part  the 
cause.  In  any  case,  the  most  important  factor  in 
the  prevention  of  corns  is  never  to  allow  the 
blacksmith  to  pare  out  the  seat  of  corn. 

Lampas 
Congestion  of  the  blood-vessels  of  the  palate. 


th:e:  horse  its 

Symptoms. — Loss  of  appetite,  and,  on  examina- 
tion, a  swelled  condition  of  the  roof  of  the  mouth. 

Causes. — In  young  hoi'ses,  teething.  In  old 
horses,  very  often  u'reguiarity  of  the  molar  teeth, 
bit  injuries,  or  indigestion. 

Treatment. — If  the  molars  are  at  fault,  the 
irregularity  may  be  removed  by  a  rasp.  The 
diet  must  consist  of  wet  bran  and  soft  food  for  a 
day  or  two,  until  the  uiiiammation  subsides  and 
the  mouth  is  no  longer  tender.  The  cruel  practice 
of  burning  the  palate  v»  ith  a  hot  iron,  which  was 
in  old  days  considered  the  recognized  cure,  is  as 
useless  as  it  is  brutal,  and  is  never  now  done. 

Mange 

Due  to  a  parasitical  insect  which  burrows  into 
the  skin. 

Symptoms. — Minute  pustules  usually  commenc- 
ing on  the  vv^ithers  or  croup,  which  burst  and 
coalesce  and  form  patches  of  encrustation  on  the 
skin.  The  hah'  falls  out,  and  the  skin  becomes 
harsh  and  sore  if  the  horse  rubs  himself  to  relieve 
the  intolerable  itching. 

Causes. — Bad  food,  by  lowering  an  animal's 
condition,  may  predispose  it  to  ^' catch "  mange, 
but  if  it  is  well  groomed,  the  parasites  cannot  get 


176  THE  HOESE 

a  foothold.  Mange  is  due,  therefore,  to  neglect 
and  nothing  else,  and  its  appearance  in  a  stable 
should  suggest  the  instant  dismissal  of  the  re- 
sponsible servant.  A  well-groomed,  badlj-fed 
horse  will  not  develop  mange ;  neither  will  a 
well-fed,  ungroomed  animal. 

Treatment. — This  consists  of  killing  the  parasites. 
The  skin  should  be  well  washed  with  soft  soap 
and  water,  and,  after  being  carefully  dried,  should 
be  dressed  with  a  mixture  of  one  part  petroleum 
and  six  parts  of  oil,  or  with  some  sheep  dip,  or 
with,  in  fact,  almost  any  germicide,  ap})lied  with 
a  soft  brush.  Every  day  the  spots  should  be 
washed  and  redressed.  A  change  of  diet  is 
beneficial,  and  green  food  desirable.  All  cloth- 
ing worn  by  the  horse  should  be  thoroughly 
baked  or  boiled  before  being  used  again,  and  the 
stables  should  be  whitewashed,  as  the  ailment  is 
highly  contagious. 


Sore  Back  axd  Galls 

Causes. — Badly  fitting  saddle  or  collar,  or 
awkward  rider.  If  a  horse  is  ridden  or  driven 
when  out  of  condition,  or  put  to  a  long  day's 
hunting  when  unused  to  carrying  a  saddle,  he 


THE  HORSE  177 

may  become  tender,  and  if  used  again  before  the 
bruise  is  healed,  will  become  sore. 

Treatment. — Entire  cessation  of  work.  The 
saddle  or  collar  should  be  left  on  a  colt  for  a 
time  when  he  comes  in  hot  from  work.  If  the 
skin  beneath  is  bruised,  swelled,  and  tender,  the 
place  may  be  bathed  with  a  strong  solution  of  salt 
or  alum  and  water,  which  will  help  to  harden  the 
skin.  The  only  treatment  for  an  advanced  case 
is  rest,  as,  if  the  owner  continues  to  use  the  horse, 
the  sore  which  will  develop  will  take  weeks  to 
cure  instead  of  only  a  few  days.  In  any  case,  the 
padding  of  the  saddle  should  be  altered  so  as  to 
shift  the  pressure.  If  a  colt  becomes  tender  dur- 
ing breaking,  and  it  is  undesirable  to  temporarily 
discontinue  his  education,  a  breast  collar  may  be 
used  for  a  few  days. 

Grass-fed  horses  sometimes  become  girth-galled 
when  first  put  into  work.  A  handful  of  flour 
thrown  on  the  sore  immediately  it  is  noticed  will 
prevent  it  giving  much  trouble. 

Thrush 
An  unhealthy  secretion  issuing  from  the  cleft  of 
the  frog,  and  one  of  the  commonest  diseases  of 
horses. 


178  THE  HOUSE 

Causes. — Bad  stable  management  and  neglect ; 
dirty  stable  floor ;  feet  not  picked  out ;  also  oc- 
casionally due  to  paring  of  the  feet  or  high- 
heeled  shoes,  so  that  the  work  and  pressure 
necessary  to  maintain  the  frog  in  health  is  not 
obtained. 

Treatment. — In  trivial  cases,  when  the  horse  is 
to  be  kept  in  work,  some  Stockholm  tar  run  into 
the  cleft  once  a  week  will  prove  beneficial.  In 
severe  cases,  after  the  part  has  been  cleansed,  a 
piece  of  tow  saturated  with  a  lotion  composed  of 
a  mixture  of  one  part  carbolic  acid  to  twenty 
parts  of  water  thrust  into  the  cleft,  and  renewed 
night  and  morning  for  some  days,  will  prove 
effectual.  In  chronic  thrush  it  may  be  necessary 
to  shoe  the  horse  \vith  tips,  as,  if  the  disease  has 
not  gone  too  far,  the  wear  and  pressure  will  prob- 
ably cause  the  foot  to  again  become  sound  and 
strong. 

WOUXDS 

All  flesh  wounds  should  be  carefully  cleansed 
with  warm  water  to  remove  all  particles  of  dirt, 
etc.,  and  should  be  dressed  with  carbolic  ointment 
or  lotion.  The  same  treatment  applies  to  broken 
knees,  and,  in  addition,  a  fold  of  lint  kept  con- 


THE  HORSE  179 

stantly  wet  with  a  lotion  composed  of  one  part 
carbolic  acid  to  twenty  of  cold  water  will  be 
beneficial  during  the  first  few  days.  The  most 
important  matter  in  the  treatment  of  all  wounds 
is  disinfection. 


THE  END 


Index 


Abscess,  171 
Action,  24,  26 
Age  for  work,  27 
Age,  how  told,  31 
Ailments,  common,  170 
Appearance,  26 
Arabian  horses,  13 1 
Artificial  food,  113 
Assistant,    when    needed, 

161 
Assistant  undesirable,  155 

Bandaging  legs,  120 

Beans,  food  value,  107 

Bedding,  79,  112,  119,  125 

Blanketing,  122 

Blemishes,  27 

Blinkers,  161 

Blister,  68 

Body,  15 

Bone,  23 

Bone  spavin,  nature  of,  69, 

Brakes,  use  of,  168 

Bran,  112,  113 

Bran,  hay,  oats,  147 

Breaking  and  driving,  150 

Brushes  and  combs,  115 

Calf  knees,  21 
Capped  hocks,  77,  78 
Care  of  the  feet,  140 
Carriage,  cost  of,  149 
Cart,  use  of,  161 


Catarrh,  17 1 

Catching  a  colt,  153 

Cavalry   food   allowance,    129, 

Chest,  14 
Clipping,  123-125 
Clover,  1 1 1 

Coach-house  accessories,  1 16 
155,       Cold  water,  138 

Colic,  or  gripes,  138,  173 
Collar,  kind  of,  163 
Common  ailments,  170 
Corn,  106,  130 
Corns,  141,  173 
Cost  of  keeping  a  horse,  144 
Cow  hocks,  20 
Cracked  heels,  120,  172 
Curb,  29,  30,  60,  62 
Curb,  history  of,  65,  67 
Currycomb,  116 

70         Diet,  152 

Diseases,  170 

Dishing,  25 

Divisions  of  stall,  91,  98,  lOI 

Doors,  102 

Drainage,  93,  98 

Driving,  165 

Driving  and  breaking,  1 50 

Dust  of  hay,  ii  i 

Ears,  movement  of,  li 
Eye,  indications,  lo,  II 

181 


182 


INDEX 


Feeding,  cleaning,  etc.,  117 

Feeding  value,  no 

Feeding  and  watering,  128 

Feet,  23 

Feet,  care  of,  140 

Fever  in  feet,  24 

Fever,  mud,  121 

Floors,  94,  101,  119 

Food,  104 

Food  allowance,  129,  133 

Foot,  struLiuie  of,  140 

Fore  leqs,  14 

Fore  and  hind  legs,  17 

Frequent  shoeing,  142 

Frog,  24,  142 

Galls,  saddle,  30 
Galls,  ^vind,  29 
Grass,  134 
Grazing  season,  135 
Groom,  wages  of,  149 
Grooming  after  exercise,  123 

Harness,  carriage,  cost  of,  149 

Harness  room,  102,  116 

Harnessing  a  colt,  161 

Hay,  107,  132-134 

Hay  dust,  in 

Hay,  food  value,  no 

Hay,  mow-burned,  no 

Hay,  oats,  bran,  147 

Hay-racks,  97 

Haying,  109 

Head,  size  of,  9 

Heels,  cracked,  120 

Hind  quarters,  16 

Hints  on  breaking  and  driving, 

Hock  lameness,  72 
Hock,  structure  of,  69 


Hocks,  capped,  77 

Horse,  choice  of,  7 

Horses,  sound  and  unsound,  54 

Hov/  to  tell  a  horse's  age,  31- 

Keeping  a  horse,  cost  of,  144 
Kind  of  collar,  163 

Lameness,  66 
Laminitis,  58 
Lampas,  174-175 
Legs,  bandaging,  I20 
Light,  95 
Linseed,  113 
Litter,  147 
Loins,  15 
Long  rein  driving,  158 

Management  of  stable,  114 
Mange,  175 
Mangers,  96,  loi 
Mark,  38 
Moths,  103 
Mouthing,  156 
Mow-burned  hay,  IIO 
Mud  fever,  121 
Mule,  age  of,  47 

Neck,  ii,  12 
New  hay,  ill 
No  assistai;t,  155 
No  spectators,  155 

Oats,  104 

Oats,  hay,  bran,  147 

Observations  on  feet,  I43 

Pails,  114 
Pasterns,  13,  21,  22 
Patience,  need  of,  152 


INDEX 


183 


Ponies,  130,  1 3 1,  134 

Proper  shoeing,  140 
Proportion,  18 
Purchasing  a  horse,  74,  76 

QUITTOR,  141 

Racks  for  hay,  97 
Rain  water,  138 
Reining  up,  156-157 
Ribs,  16 
Routine  management,  117 

Saddle  galls,  30 

Salt,  139 

Shoeing,  140,  148,  163 

Shoulders,  13,  15,  21 

Shoulders,  sore,  162 

Shying,  168 

Side-bones,  83 

Signals,  159 

Signs  of  age,  31 

Site  of  stable,  loi 

Sore  back  and  galls,  176 

Sore  shoulders,  162 

Sound  and  unsound,  54 

Spavin,  29,  30,  68 

Spavin,  bone,  68 

Spavin,  treatment  of,  72 

Splints,  28-30 

Splints,  nature  and  cause,  79-81 

Stable,  87 

Stable,  building  of,  100 

Stable  utensils,  145 

Stable  ventilation,  89,  98,  102 

Stall  divisions,  91,  98,  loi 

Straw,  III,  112 

Structure  of  foot,  140 


Suspicious  animal,  154 
Sustained  exertion,  128 
Sweat,  blanketmg,  etc.,  122 
Symptoms  of  ailments,  170-178 
Synovial  enlargements,  77 

Tackle,  150 
Teaching  to  guide,  157 
Teaching  to  lead,  154 
Technical  unsoundness,  59 
Teeth,  31-52 
Temper,  151 
Tension  of  rein,  166 
Thoroughbreds,  130 
Thoroughpin,  77 
Thrush,  24,  119,  142,  177 
Treatment  of  ailments,  170-178 
Tricks,  163 

Undesirable  horses,  66 
Unsoundness,  27,  28 
Use  of  brakes,  168 
Use  of  cart,  161 
Use  of  whip,  1 67-168 
Utensils,  stable,  145 

Veterinary  examination,  56 

Wages  of  groom,  149 
Water,  hard  and  soft,  138 
Water,  rain,  138 
Water,  spring  and  well,  138 
Watering,  128,  136 
Whip,  use  of,  167,  168 
Wind  gal]s,  29 
Wounds,  178 

Zebra  hybrids,  56 


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guide,  and  is  written  in  a  most  entertain'jig  and  chatty  style, 

HANDBOOK  OF  What  is  more   disagreeable 

•     PRONUNCIATION     than    a    faulty    pronunciation?, 
^  John  H.  Bechtel  No   other   defed   so  clearly 

shows  a  lack  of  culture.  ^  This 
book  contains  over  5,000  words  on  which  mo^  of  us  are 
•pt  to  trip,  ^  They  are  here  pronounced  in  the  cleared  and 
amplest  manner,  and  according  to  the  be^  authority  ^  I' 
is  more  readily  consulted  than  a  diddooafy,  and  is  juik  M 


CANDY-MAKING      Two    hundred   ways   to    make 
AT   HOME  candy  with  the  home  flavor  and 

By  Mary  M.  Wright  ^^  professional  finish.     ^  Clear 

and  detailed  recipes  are  given 
for  fondant,  fruit  ind  nut  candies,  cream  candies,  fudges 
and  caramels,  bonbons,  macaroons  and  little  cakes. 
^  Every  housekeeper  can  now  greatly  lessen  i:he  cost  of 
entertainments  by  preparing  at  home  the  confectionery 
to  be  used  and  can  also  keep  her  table  well  supplied 
with  delicious  bonbons  and  candies. 

THE  CARE  OF  THE     One   of  the   few  books   that 

CHILD  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^-^^^  °^^  ^^^  ^^^^ 

By  Mrs.  Burton  Chance  ^^^  problem  in  all  its  aspects 

— mental,  moral  and  physical. 
^The  author,  a  mother  and  the  wife  of  a  physician, 
has  anticipated  nearly  every  nursery  difficulty.  ^She 
gives  all  that  one  ordinarily  needs  about  diet,  clothing, 
bathing  and  sleep,  summarizing  the  practice  of  leading, 
specialists.  ^  There  are  helpful  practical  discussions  on 
obedience,  imagination,  personality,  truthtelling,  play 
£md  education. 

tHOME    DECORATION     A  beautiful  home   means 
By  Dorothy  T.  Priestman  only  knowing  what  to  buy 

when  you  do  buy.  ^  This 
is  a  book  that  tells  what  is  really  in  simple  good  taste, 
why,  and  how  to  get  it.  ^lt  deals  fully  and  practi- 
cally with  the  treatment  of  walls,  furniture,  floor  cover- 
ing, hangings,  ornaments  and  pictures.  ^  It  gives  color 
schemes,  tells  how  to  arrange  a  door  or  a  window;  how 
to  make  the  most  of  small  space;  how  to  do  stenciling; 
how  to  make  rugs,  etc 


THE  FAMILY  FOOD  Most  of  us  eat  too  much.. 
By  T.  C  O'DonncIl  ^  ^^^  of  us  pay  more  than  we 

need  for  our  food.  ^A 
practical,  thorough  book  on  the  way  to  get  the  most 
efficient  food  for  little  money.  C|  It  discusses  every 
familiar  article  of  diet,  tells  its  cost,  its  food  value,  and 
its  effects  on  the  body,  and  gives  menus  showing  how  to 
economize  and  keep  well.  ^  It  is  written  in  a  simple 
plain  style  for  plain  people,  by  a  recognized  authority. 

THE  FAMILY  HEALTH  This  book  tells  how  to  keep 
By  Mycr  SolisXohcn,  M.D.  ^ell,  and  how  to  build  up 

"*         T  the    natural    forces    that 

combat  disease.  ^  It  gives  definite  information  that  can 
be  put  into  practice.  ^  It  treats  problems  of  ventilation, 
heating,  lighting,  drainage,  disposal  of  refuse,  destruction 
of  insects,  and  cleansing.  C[  Under  personal  hygiene  it 
discusses  bathing,  clothing,  food,  drink,  work,  exercise, 
rest  and  the  care  of  the  eyes,  ears,  throat,  teeth,  nails,  hair 
and  figure.  ^  A  chapter  Is  devoted  to  the  mind,  and  the 
prevention  of  nervousness  and  insanity.  ^  Directions 
are  given  for  nursing  at  home.  ^  This  book  tells  the 
family  just  *'y/hat  to  do  before  the  doctor  arrives/' 

THE  FAMILY   HOUSE    A  helpful  book  that  tells 

By  C.  F.  Osborne,  Architect  J^^^t    to    look    for   in  the 

location  of  a  house,  price 
or  amount  of  rent,  exposure,  plumbing,  fixtures,  light- 
ing, ventllatlrn,  water,  how  to  tell  whether  a  house  is 
well  built,  dry  and  warm,  what  is  the  best  plan  and 
how  to  get  comfort  and  artistic  effects  in  furnishing 
^  Whether  one  is  renting,  buying  or  build '-.g,  this  book 
vdil  save  aimoyance,  time  and  money. 


